Believe
by fallendarknight86
Summary: Rachel has a successful career and a happy romance with a co-star. What happens when a familiar face from her past drops in her life and turns it upside down?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I know I have been MIA for a long time and I have still other stories to write, but this idea has been with me for a long time and i just got out of a major write block for it. So, i thought "Screw it and go ahead. Let it out." I just hope you'll like it and if not, i am ready to take your criticism as well.**

 **The title was inspired by a Mumford and Sons' song (side note: it has nothing to do with Dianna's life choices; i liked the band before it crossed her path - at least for the public eye).**

 **Summary:** _Rachel is a successful Broadway actress, in a committed and happy relationship with a co-star who is in the same business. Everything seemed to go smooth, until a familiar face decided to drop back in her life..._

 _[Italics are for the flashbacks]_

CHAPTER 1

The sound of a pan hitting the floor resonated through the apartment, stirring the brunette beauty still lying under the thick duvet in the master bedroom. Her messy hair and some of her forehead peeked out from under it. Her arm reached for the other side of the bed, finding it empty but still warm, meaning the other occupant had just vacated it, to probably go and make some breakfast. Rachel yawned, stirring slowly, before slipping out of bed to pad barefoot towards the source of that noise. Her eyes still felt a bit drowsy from the sleep, but it was nothing that a good cup of coffee couldn't solve.

As soon as she reached the open kitchen area, she leaned against the doorway and stared at the back of her lover's head, who was flipping pancakes and humming to the music coming out of his iPhone, plugged in the dock station. She smiled at the sight and paced around the kitchen island, slipping her arms around his slim waist and dropping her forehead between his shoulders.

"Hey you, did I wake you up?" Jesse chuckled and stretched his neck, to place a gentle kiss against her forehead. "I still haven't gotten used to your kitchen."

"It's fine. Tell me you started the coffee machine, though." She mumbled against the fabric of his t-shirt.

"Of course, how could I expect to engage you in any conversation, if caffeine is not in your system?" He handed her a fresh mug, chuckling at the way her posture changed. She stood straighter, eager to take the first sip. "Sometimes I wonder if you could ever love me as much as you love that thing." He pointed at her, with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"I am afraid coffee will always be my first love, but keep on being that cute and I'll try and place you second." She smiled and took a seat at the kitchen island. Her iPhone beeped with a few emails and texts, both from her manager and best friend. She replied to some and scrolled through the news, before Jesse joined her and placed a plate full of vegan pancakes, in front of her.

"There you go, star." He reached for the newspaper, going straight to the politics section and failing to notice the pensive look on his girlfriend's face, caused by the nickname that had slipped from his mouth.

Rachel stared down at her phone, her thumb itching to go back to her Facebook page and search for a familiar name. Search for a pair of eyes that still haunted her dreams...

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 _When Leroy woke up, that morning, he was surprised to find a moving truck in the driveway across from his. He had seen the "on sale" sign for a while and families had come and gone, visiting the property and asking the other residents information about the neighborhood. He still remembered the day he and Hiram decided to move back to Lima – his hometown – after getting their college degrees on the West Coast; they were just looking for a safe and peaceful neighborhood where to raise a family and grow old together. Lima had not always been open and warm to them, but they had managed to find good and private neighbors that welcomed them like any other family, who was settling there._

 _"_ _What are you staring at, Lee?" Hiram kissed his shoulder with affection and took the mug from him, borrowing a sip before making a disgusted face at the taste of sugar free coffee. "I will never understand the appeal of black coffee."_

 _"_ _Next month, we are celebrating 15 years together and you still don't know how I like my coffee?" Leroy chuckled and grabbed another mug from the cupboard, pouring some fresh coffee in and adding three sugar cubes. "We have new neighbors, maybe you and Rachel could bake them some fresh cupcakes?"_

 _"_ _What's the special occasion?" The short brunette came bouncing down the stairs, greeting her fathers with a kiss on the cheek before grabbing a fresh apple from the basket and taking a bite._

 _"_ _I was just informing your dad we have new neighbors, sweetie." Leroy handed her a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and joined her at the kitchen table, opening his newspaper. "I am sure they'd appreciate a 'welcome' basket with your baked goodies."_

 _"_ _I will work on that, soon after breakfast." She smiled at him and looked at her other father, who was rummaging through the cupboards to ensure they had all the ingredients._

 _"_ _You have plans for the rest of the day, honey?" Hiram took a seat at the table, stroking the back of Leroy's hand as he took a peak at the entertainment news on the back of the newspaper. "When is Finn going to come around for an official dinner? You have been dating the boy for almost a year, now."_

 _"_ _I tried to set a date with you, but I think he is afraid of Daddy and his lawyer attitude." Rachel took a sip from her glass and looked out of the window, catching the sight of a blonde haired girl walking down the new neighbors' driveway towards the main door. "It looks like there is a girl in the new house; maybe we can invite them all for dinner?"_

 _"_ _That's not a bad idea at all, baby girl." Leroy stood up and grabbed his laptop bag, draping it over his shoulder before grabbing the jacket for his matching suit. "Don't burn the house down, you two." He kissed both their foreheads and headed towards the door._

 _Once out, he threw a glance at the house across from his, trying to get few more information from afar. He saw a blonde man – probably around his age – instructing some movers to carry the heavy furniture inside the house, whilst a younger girl took some boxes marked with a black Q on their sides. The girl was not much older than Rachel and that relieved him. Maybe his daughter could find a new friend to bond with, that wasn't Finn or some envious kid from the Glee club. With that thought, he slipped inside his Land Rover and drove off, towards his workplace._

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Despite being at the top of her Broadway career and seeing her face all over the billboards in New York, Rachel wasn't really one of those 'party girls' who liked clubbing and getting hammered until she forgot her name. She had a different notion of relax and fun. She'd rather stay home, curled on her couch with a musical playing on her TV, while nursing a good glass of wine or maybe having dinner in a nice restaurant, away from the crowd. Even when she met Jesse, she was lucky enough to find someone who would share her same passion for those kind of nights, despite his preference for gangster movies. But they could always compromise.

Tonight, though, she was dragged out of her cozy apartment to help her best friend in reviewing a newly opened night club, in the SoHo area. She couldn't really say no. Tina had begged and pouted until she had given in, taking advantage of that invitation to catch up with her. In High School, she would have never imagined their friendship would blossom in such a strong way, but once in New York they had gotten to know each other and found they had more things in common, than Kurt or Mercedes ever had. Maybe it was because they hadn't to compete for anything. Maybe it was because they really got each other, without needing to keep a score of who had helped whom. Maybe it was both. Truth been told, Tina had been everything she had ever wanted in a best friend and it was definitely a mutual thing.

"Rachel! Here!" Tina stood in the middle of the club, having snatched a table close to the bar, but not near enough to get smothered by the customers getting in line for their drinks.

"Hey!" Rachel waved back, walking through the crowd and looking around. The club was definitely a step-up compared to what it used to be. Leather couches, glasses table, comfortable seats and elegant design elements were all over the walls. The staff also wore uniforms, compared to the usual outfits she was accustomed to see in these places.

"Glad you could make it. Feels like ages since the last time I saw you" Tina hugged her tightly and then plopped back in her seat, waving the waiter over to get another round of drinks. "Can we have another Martini Dry and a Vodka Lemon? Don't hold back with the vodka." She handed him her credit card for the payment.

"Very well ma'am. I will come back shortly with your drinks." The waiter typed on his iPad and then walked back towards the counter, to proceed with the payment as the bartender mixed the drinks.

"It's a nice place, how's your review going so far?" Rachel settled in her seat, staring at her friend's notepad sitting close by.

"Pretty well. This is a very classy place and the prices are not even that high. Great combo." Tina looked through her notes, scribbling something else down as her eyes caught the expensive paintings on the walls behind the bar.

"Combo? Is that a technical word?" Rachel chuckled. Leaning back, she thanked the waiter for her drink and took a sip, coughing a little for the amount of alcohol in it. "That's Vodka + Vodka, with a hint of lemon."

"Oh hush, it's not like you can't handle some booze." Tina pocketed her receipt and took a long sip from her own glass. "So, tell me about you. We haven't had a chance to talk since your last Broadway opening. Any new shows on the way?"

"I have been auditioning some but I might take a small break from it, once I finish with this one." Rachel smiled at the puzzlement on her friend's face. "Universal wants me for my first album!"

"OH MY GOD! That's amazing!" Tina leaned over the table, almost spilling their drinks, to hug her friend and squeal joyously in her ear, earning few glances from the other patrons of the bar. "Is that definite already? Have you closed a good deal?"

"Cassandra is working on that, you know her. She is a shark and that's why I hired her." Rachel chuckled and finished her drink, licking her moist lips.

"And what does Jesse say about that? Are things alright with you two?" Tina sat her own drink down, leaning forward to stare at her friend, whose smile had visibly faded at the mention of her boyfriend. "Did something happen with him? I swear if he hurt you, I will-"

"Calm down, tiger. He is fine, he is actually more than fine. He has been so patient with me and I can tell he'd like to move things further, but I am not sure about that."

"Has that something to do with a blondie with hazel eyes and a charming smile?" Tina sighed gently, knowing that the aforementioned blonde was still a too vivid memory in her friend's mind and, mostly, heart.

"It's stupid, I know. I have had boyfriends since her, but I can't shrug the thought that…I don't know, that maybe she will drop on my doorstep and I won't know what to do." Rachel dropped her face in her palms, sighing in deeply.

"Maybe it won't be on your doorstep, you know?" Tina's eyes caught a familiar silhouette moving behind Rachel. A familiar blonde, who had visibly matured in the years, adding more appeal to her natural beauty.

"Why? What do you mean?" Rachel stared up at the other brunette, whose gaze was lost on something behind her shoulders. When she turned around to catch a glimpse herself, she felt her breath catch in her throat and her heart drop in her chest.

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 _When Leroy walked back into his house, later that evening, he was surprised to hear more and unknown voices coming from the living room, the scent of vanilla cupcakes was still lingering in the air, making him feel home like usual. He dropped his suitcase by the door and hung his jacket on the coat rack before joining his family and guests in the living room._

 _"_ _Dear, we didn't hear you come in." Hiram stood up to place a gentle kiss on his cheek, before turning towards their guest sitting on their ample couch. "These are the Fabray's, our new neighbors."_

 _"_ _Welcome to the neighborhood. I am Leroy Berry." He extended his hand out, sighing in relief when the man around his same age took it, with no disdain nor anger in his grey eyes. He had met so many people in his life, who had judged him and his family for loving his husband._

 _"_ _Russell Fabray, it's my pleasure. Thanks for inviting us over." He smiled gratefully and then wrapped a strong arm around his wife's shoulder, kissing her temple as she took his hand. "Judy and I had no time to run to the store and grab some groceries. We would have called some place for delivery, but we don't know anyone." He chuckled softly._

 _"_ _Oh don't worry, Hiram and Rachel here know the best places in town. If they didn't, we'd starve ourselves or end up burning the house down." He nudged his husband's arm with his, before turning to the still silent teenager standing beside her mother. "Oh gosh, is your daughter a model or something? She is very pretty."_

 _"_ _Thank you, sir. You should see my elder sister, she is the model in our family." The blonde switched glances between him and his own daughter, who was staring at her with rapture. "My name is Quinn, thank you again for having us over, sir." She took his outstretched hand in hers, returning his grip with a strong one._

 _"_ _So polite too. You must be very proud of her." Leroy turned back to Judy and Russell, who just nodded with a smile. "So, I gather you already ordered take out? Why don't you girls take a tour upstairs, while your dad and I trade information with Russell and Judy?" He turned toward his daughter, who smiled and took Quinn's hand, tugging her upstairs towards her room._

 _As soon as the teens reached the brunette's room, Quinn took her time in looking around. Even if she barely knew Rachel, she could tell the room was nothing but a great way to mirror Rachel's bubbly personality and interests. She walked to the tall bookshelf on the far corner of the room, staring at the different pictures with interest. There were pictures of Rachel with her fathers. So many pictures of the three of them. Then, there were a couple of pictures with a tall boy, whose crooked smile made her want to roll eyes at him, and a group picture of a school club called "Glee"._

 _"_ _What is Glee? A music club?" Quinn examined the photo. She could see the happiness radiating off Rachel, as she held their Regional trophy high in her hands. But she couldn't see the same enthusiasm in the other people surrounding her. The tall guy with the dopey smile looked bored and everyone else either looked away or stared at the back of Rachel's head, with annoyance or envy._

 _"_ _Sort of. We don't play any instruments, but we sing and dance and compete at Regional and National levels with the best school choirs from around the Country." Rachel took the photo from her hands, pointing at the trophy in her hands. "We had just won Regionals and that had granted us access to Nationals, in New York. It was a special moment for us."_

 _"_ _How did Nationals go? You must have been enthusiastic to go to New York, right? I mean, from what I can tell here, it's your biggest dream?" Quinn pointed to the Broadway posters on the walls and the books in her bookshelf._

 _"_ _I was. I even got the chance to see where my favorite musical plays, but we didn't win." She sighed sadly and placed the picture back down, rubbing her hands together. "During our performance, Finn…well, he chose that moment to kiss me in front of the whole audience. We have a rocky relationship and we had broken up, again, so he thought I'd appreciate the romanticism behind his gesture."_

 _"_ _Let me guess, he got the girl but you didn't rank high?" Quinn stared back at the picture of the tall guy, assuming it was the tool Rachel had just mentioned. "So, you still took him back?" She pointed to the picture of the two of them, earning a small nod from the singer. "Maybe he has some hidden talent, after all." She muttered to herself and walked to the brunette's desk, picking the Barbra's biography. "You know, my mom is a huge fan. She has all of her movies and albums. You will probably have a lot to talk about, I think she even met her once."_

 _"_ _Oh my god, your mom met Barbra? That's amazing. I must know everything about her. I am such a fan and I can't wait to be on Broadway to make a duet with her or even work in a remake of Funny Girl. It'd be such an honor for me to be in Fanny's shoes, after her." Rachel took Quinn's hand and dragged her back toward the door. "I need your mom to start telling me everything!"_

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Rachel felt like passing out. Her eyes couldn't help but follow the familiar blonde navigating through the club, talking to the staff and greeting the customers, leading them to their tables. Her palms were sweaty and her heart was thumping hard in her chest. She couldn't believe at what she was witnessing with her own eyes. Was her mind tricking her? Was it some sort of a sign? Was the universe telling her something?

"Rachel? Tina?" Another familiar voice broke her out of her daze, making her lose sight of the blonde woman. Turning around, she found herself engulfed by none but Dave Karofsky. His arms pulled her tightly in, before a soft kiss was placed on her forehead, out of old habits. "What are you two doing here?"

"Funny, I was going to ask you that question." Tina stood by Rachel's side, hugging him briefly, as she nudged her still silent friend. "What brings you here?"

"I am a co-owner of this place. We just opened this place here, as a part of our plan to expand our chain to the East Coast. Next stop: Boston." He turned towards Rachel, who was still trying to find Quinn with her curious eyes. "She is upstairs, first door on the left." He whispered in her ear, pushing her towards the staircase that led to the staff area. He exchanged a short nod with the security team standing by the bottom of the stairs, who let Rachel pass without questioning her motives.

"This is going to be a mess; you know that?" Tina turned towards Dave, who sighed knowingly. "How has she been?"

"You know her, putting up a strong mask even if she is breaking inside. How has Rachel been doing?" Dave waved towards the bartender for a refill and sat in the recently vacated chair.

"Not good. Your best friend destroyed mine, you know that?" The brunette girl took a sip from her new drink, staring into the guy's face who could only nod. "What's her plan? Is she going to stick around or what?"

"I think she is here to stay. It was her idea to come here and we know why she chose New York, of all the places." Dave leaned back in his chair, undoing his tie and running a hand through his perfect hair. "I hope she has stopped running away."

"The two of us, Dave."

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 _"_ _Are you sure it's okay for me to show up at this party, Rachel? I don't want to impose. These are your friends and I don't know anyone but you." Quinn helped the girl out of her mother's SUV and closed the door behind them, locking it with her remote. "If you want, I can just come pick you up when you're done. So I know you will be home safe."_

 _"_ _That's very sweet of you, Quinn, but you really don't need to worry. Knowing Noah, he probably invited half of the school at this party for the 4_ _th_ _of July, so it's not like I know these people either." She grabbed the girl's hand and led her up the driveway, not even bothering to knock. She pushed the door open and stumbled back, when a pair of football players passed by, already drunk on beer._

 _"_ _Hey, watch it." Quinn called out after the two boys, who just ignored her protests. The blonde rolled her eyes knowingly. She hated these gatherings. It was another chance for people to get drunk, lose their inhibitions and even get in bad situations. There were plenty of these things back in Boston. "Let's find your friends, shall we?" She whispered loudly in the brunette's ear, who held onto her hand and led their way through the sweaty teens dancing in the living room._

 _"_ _I see my friends!" Rachel bounced happily and pushed her way through the crowd, finally standing in front of some of her Glee friends. "Hi everyone. This is Quinn, my new neighbor. Quinn these are: Mercedes, Kurt, Tina, Brittany, Artie." She pointed to each member and then turned around in search of a tall boy, who was still missing._

 _"_ _You are hot. Are you going to join the Cheerios?" Brittany asked her innocently, while playing with her hands. "Are you flexible enough? Can you do this?" She slipped one of her legs behind her head and smiled back at the other blonde, who raised her eyebrow in puzzlement wearing a clear 'Are you fucking kidding me?' look on her face._

 _"_ _Shit, Brittany. You shouldn't be doing this in public, I told you." An angry Latina pushed between Quinn and Rachel, straightening Brittany's pose so that she could be sitting properly, before plopping down in her lap. "Who is this blonde bimbo? That's why she is friends with you, Hobbit? Cause her IQ is lower than average?"_

 _"_ _Listen bitch, I don't know who you think you are, but if you think you can insult Rachel or myself without any consequence, you have another thing coming." Quinn stepped into the brunette's face, who could only smirk when Rachel slipped between them, to stop her. "Let me go, Rach."_

 _"_ _It's no use, Quinn. Santana is a bitch to everyone, that's how she deals with people who make her feel threatened." The brunette rubbed her back gently and looked up into her hazel eyes. "Let's get something to drink, I also need to find Finn." She steered her towards the kitchen, making sure to keep a safe grip on the blonde girl, so that she wouldn't try to slap some sense into Santana._

 _"_ _Girl is feisty and hot, wonder why she hangs out with that loser." Santana muttered and leaned back into Brittany's arms, who just sighed at her girlfriend's attitude._

 _It took all of Quinn's willpower and Rachel's warm hand to keep her from running back to Santana and punch her in the face or those fake boobs she had. Why didn't anyone take a stand to defend Rachel? Was it so hard to be loyal to her? She really didn't get it. She squeezed the smaller hand with her fingers, reminding herself that she had just met Rachel and that she wasn't free. She was being a welcoming neighbor and friend, with no further motives. She couldn't misinterpret her kindness for something, that was probably just in her head. She had just left a silly teenage drama behind herself, she couldn't jump head first into another one. Not so soon. Not by risking to ruin her tentative friendship with Rachel._

 _"_ _Finn, there you are. I've been searching for you everywhere." The moment Rachel caught sight of her boyfriend, she let Quinn's hand go, failing to notice the look on the blonde's face. "I want you to meet Quinn, my new neighbor and friend." She side hugged the tall boy and leaned up on her tiptoes to kiss his slightly sweaty cheek._

 _"_ _Hey, what's up?" He barely looked at the girl in his arms, but took his time to stare at her from head to toe. Quinn couldn't help but roll her eyes at his attitude. She was aware of her own beauty, but she would have expected him to be more considerate of his girlfriend standing there._

 _"_ _Nothing is up. Having fun with your beer pong game?" She snorted at his dopey smile. Was he actually trying to charm her, with Rachel there? "Rach, what can I get you?" She moved toward the bar counter, ready to mix drinks herself when another boy popped out of nowhere, wearing even a worse smile on his face._

 _"_ _Sorry hottie, only the Puckzilla is allowed to mix drinks." He leered at her, probably undressing her in his mind while leaning toward her. "I could make an exception, though. Wanna see my liquor collection in my bedroom? I will allow you to touch, whatever you want."_

 _"_ _In your dreams, maybe." She pushed him back and grabbed two root beer bottles, uncapping them against the edge of the counter. She tried to walk back toward the oblivious brunette, when the guy stepped in front of her, trapping her against the counter. "You better move, if you want to be able to procreate." She gritted between her teeth._

 _"_ _C'mon baby. Why are you playing so hard to get? I bet you and I could have so much fun, together. Do you like wine coolers?" He tried to place his hand on her cheek, but before being able to do that, he found himself on his knees holding onto his groin. "Fucking bitch!" He groaned in pain, breathing hard and fighting the urge to throw up._

 _"_ _That will teach you a lesson. No means no, idiot." She stepped over him and handed Rachel her beer, whilst Finn kneeled by his best friend assessing the damage. "Has that guy ever tried anything with you?" She looked at the brunette with concern, who shook her head and just watched Finn helping Puck up._

 _"_ _Are you crazy or something, new girl? You could have injured him. He is one of our best players." Finn towered over her, trying to intimidate her with his height advantage, but she just wanted to ignore his bad smell of sweat and alcohol. How could Rachel stand that?_

 _"_ _Finn, right? If your best player had taken no as an answer, he wouldn't be standing there, holding a pack of green peas against his groin and praying he doesn't need a surgery for those blue balls." She took a sip from her beer and looked around the room, feeling more eyes on her than what she had expected. "He was a jerk and got what he deserved."_

 _"_ _It was a harmless joke, are you a carpet muncher or something?" He chuckled humorlessly and smirked at the approving cat whistles from the other guys._

 _"_ _Finn Hudson, I can't believe you!" Rachel slammed the beer bottle on the table and pushed a finger against his chest, adding more space between him and the girl behind her. "Just because Quinn is not falling in bed with Noah, it doesn't mean she likes girls and even if she did, that's none of your business!" She crossed her arms over her chest and stared up at him, with annoyance._

 _"_ _C'mon Rach, she just came into town and you are taking her side over Puck's or mine? She harmed your friend, doesn't that count?" He tried to grab her hands with his, but she just stepped back. "Fine, act that way. Don't come cry to me, when someone throws a slushie in your face, because you turned your back on me." He grabbed his own drink and walked out of the room, putting an end to the whole argument._

 _"_ _I'll go, call me when you are done? So I can come pick you up and give you a ride home." Quinn squeezed her shoulder softly and slipped out of the back door, toward her car. What a welcome party…_

 ** _reviews are more than welcome..._**


	2. Chapter 2

**thanks for the reviews, keep them coming!**

 **CHAPTER 2**

Rachel stood in front of the wooden door, staring at the "Manager's Office" metal tag like it held all the secrets of the universe within itself. Was she really ready to open a door on her past? Maybe it'd be easier if she just ran the hell away from there, leaving Quinn and all those memories behind. New York was big enough for both of them. She nodded to herself and stepped back from the door, fully intended to get out of that place and never look back, when her eyes fell on the small tattoo inside her left wrist. A simple black flame inked on her skin. A symbol of their promise to each other.

She turned around and twisted the doorknob, slipping inside the office and closing the door with her own body pressed against it. She was mentally prepared to stare down at her ex, asking all the questions running through her mind, but there was no one to address those questions to. Defeated, she leaned back against the door, knowing she had lost her momentum.

"Rachel?" A familiar voice from her left, though, broke Rachel's stream of thoughts. Quinn was standing just mere feet away from her, wiping her hands on the front of her gray vest, looking as confused as she was, when she had spotted her downstairs.

"Hello, Quinn." Rachel stood straight, the door giving her enough strength to face the silent blonde, who was debating whether to approach her or stand at a safe distance, to avoid a slap.

"How? How are you?" Quinn took a step forward, slipping her hands in the front pockets of her trousers. The years had been even nicer to Rachel, who had grown into a gorgeous and sexy woman. She couldn't help but let her eyes linger along the length of her frame, appreciating the way the dress was hugging the brunette in the right places and highlighting her eyes and tanned skin.

"It's the first time you see me after 6 years and that's the first thing you want to ask me?" The brunette pushed herself off the door, closing the distance between them, to stand in front of the silent blonde.

"I am genuinely interested in your wellbeing, Rach." The blonde smiled lightly, almost eye to eye with the brunette, whose heels were helping in reducing their height difference. "You look so beautiful." She whispered the last words, mostly to herself, but she had been heard.

"You are incorrigible, Quinn Fabray!" Rachel threw her hands up in disappointment, turning around to take a seat on the blonde's couch and take a step back from her intense eyes and charming smile. It took her exactly five minutes to reduce her into the freshman girl, who got her heart broken by the blonde beauty in front of her. Five minutes and that smile, that she had fallen for the moment they had met.

"What did I even do? You are the one barging into my office, dropping in my life after so many years." Quinn sighed and undid the first buttons of her oxford shirt, breathing in deeply. She knew she wasn't totally right, but the brunette could be so stubborn too.

"Am I, really? Who decided to open a club just right here? This is my city, Quinn, and you know that, very well!" Rachel stood back up, staring up into the other girl's eyes, who were as fiery as she remembered.

"Oh right, I didn't know you were this city's Mayor now. Should I show you my license and all that shit, Mayor Berry?" The blonde went to walk around the petite singer, who just pushed her back, making her lean back into the desk behind her.

"Don't try and be a smartass with me, Quinn. It's not going to work." Rachel got into the blonde's face, almost sharing the same air, given their proximity.

"I don't recall that ever working, Rachel." Quinn rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest and looking away from the brunette's orbs. She was so close she could smell her perfume and body lotion. "How did you know you'd find me here? This area is staff only."

"Dave told me I'd find you here. You couldn't really expect me not to confront you, Quinn; I deserve answers." Rachel tilted the girl's chin toward hers, watching those intense eyes sadden under her scrutiny. "Why did you come here, of all the places, Quinn?"

"My business on the West Coast is going well, so I thought of bringing it here and no place is like New York. It's just business, Rachel." Quinn pulled away from her grip, standing up to grab a bottle of water from her mini fridge. She held it against her forehead, breathing slowly in and out.

"Bullshit." Rachel leaned against the desk, staring at the blonde's tense back.

"Excuse me?" Quinn turned around, bottle clenched in one hand.

"You heard me, loud and clear. It's bullshit. You know it, I know it. You could have gone to Boston or Miami or somewhere else, but you chose to come here because of us. Because of me." The brunette took one step after another toward the blonde.

"I see that these years have been boosting your self-confidence, huh?" Quinn chuckled humorlessly and took a sip from her bottle. Before she could take another sip, though, Rachel took it from her hand and placed it aside, pinning her against the wall behind her, with both hands against her shoulders.

"And you haven't stopped building these thick walls around you, when you feel backed up in a corner, huh?" Rachel's hands traveled down the length of her arms, gripping her wrists lightly and turning the right one towards her, to see the matching star inked on her paler skin.

"I am backed up, though." Quinn's forehead dropped against Rachel's head, bumping it softly as they both stared at the matching tattoos.

"We need to talk, Quinn. I am serious." Rachel's head turned enough to brush her temple against the tip of the blonde's nose, who nodded and just leaned forward, curling her fingers around the other girl's ones.

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 _When Quinn walked back in the party house, she acknowledged two things: alcohol consumption had gotten out of control, Rachel was nowhere in sight. The more she pushed her way through the inebriated teens, the harder she worried. She needed to find Rachel, before something bad happened. She knew pretty well what kind of things happened at these parties and she didn't want Rachel to become another statistic. When Tina had called her, she had mentioned something about another argument with Finn that had ended badly._

 _"_ _Quinn, you are finally here." Tina stumbled into her, as another guy had pushed her into the blonde's arms. "I tried to keep an eye on Rachel, but I lost her."_

 _"_ _It's okay, we will find her. Can you and someone else check downstairs? I will go upstairs into the bedrooms." She squeezed her shoulders softly and then ran up the staircase, hoping it wasn't too late. When Quinn got in the hallways, the scene before her was not pleasant. People were sleeping against the walls, passed out from alcohol and whichever substance they had taken. The bathrooms either reeked of sex or vomit, but still no Rachel to be found._

 _"_ _Quinn, right?" A male voice caught her attention. Turning around, she saw a medium height guy, wearing a football shirt and Capri pants. "I think I saw where she could be, some Cheerio took her into that bedroom with a few guys." He walked ahead of her, trying the last door on the right but found it locked. "Stand back, I'll break it down." He started kicking the doorknob with his foot, feeling the lock loosen under his pressure._

 _"_ _Rachel! Can you hear me?" Quinn shouted through the door, hoping that whomever was there with her was not taking advantage of her inebriated state. "If you touch her, asshole, I will rip you apart and then sue your ass." She slammed her fists on the door, before using her shoulder to help the other boy breaking through it._

 _"_ _Stay behind." With one last kick, the door slammed open revealing a drunk Rachel with a group of girls taking pictures of her._

 _"_ _Hey, you morons. What the hell are you doing?" She grabbed the girl's phones and smashed them into the ground before grabbing one from the front of her dress, slamming her into the nearest wall. "If I see one picture circulating around the school, I will make your lives miserable. You got me?" She let the frightened girl go and kicked the phone against a wall, smirking at the sound of the screen breaking for the impact._

 _"_ _She is okay. She is just drunk and sleepy." The boy had grabbed a blanket to cover her up, reassuring the worried blonde. "Do you need help in carrying her back to your car?"_

 _"_ _No, thank you. She weighs like a feather." Quinn slipped an arm behind the brunette's back and another below her knees, lifting her up in a bridal style. "I owe you a huge favor-"_

 _"_ _Dave. I am Dave." He smiled and nodded softly. "Let's say it was time I did something back for her, after what I put her through with the slushies." He rubbed the back of his head._

 _"_ _Slushies?" She raised an eyebrow in puzzlement, adjusting the brunette in her arms._

 _"_ _You'll see. Catch you soon, Quinn." He let her out of the room and then stood back, watching the blonde walk out of the house with no other interruption._

 _Getting Rachel to sit still in the car had been hard, but getting her out of the car without waking her parents up was going to be even harder. She knew that as soon as they had woken up, they would have questioned what had happened and probably grounded the brunette for drinking; so, she parked the car in her own driveway, thankful that her parents usually slept heavily and their room was very far from hers._

 _"_ _Mmm, the fireworks…" Rachel muttered against her neck. Her nose brushed along the collar of Quinn's shirt, as her arms loosely wrapped around the girl's shoulders._

 _"_ _You missed the show, star." Quinn managed to open their front door without putting the girl down or causing any suspect noise. She adjusted the petite girl in her arms and made her way up the stairs, towards her own room. Luckily, she had forgotten to shut the door behind, so she easily made her way inside toward the middle-sized bed. "You stay here. I need to lock the front door." Quinn laid the drunk girl in the middle of her bed, pulling the comforter up to her chin. "I will be right back."_

 _She checked on her for the last time before making her way downstairs, to lock the door and grab a bottle of water along with some Advil. She quietly made her way back to her room and closed the door behind herself, trying not to disturb the brunette who had rolled on her side and snuggled into her pillow. Slipping her shoes off, she reached for the other pillow and another duvet, mentally encouraging herself that sleeping on the floor for a night wouldn't have been that bad after all._

 _"_ _Mmhmh…" Rachel turned on her back, fighting to open her eyes. She was so sleepy. "Where am I?" She tried to sit up but a soft hand pushed her back down, taking a seat beside her. A sweet smell of vanilla overcame her, as nimble fingers ran through her hair in a soothing manner. God her head was killing her._

 _"_ _You are at my place, I assumed it was safer for you to crash here than getting caught by your parents." Quinn whispered softly, never ceasing the movement of her fingers. "Can I get you anything? Some water?"_

 _"_ _No…I'm…I'm cold." She muttered softly, tugging the covers more up to her chin._

 _"_ _Let me get you another blanket." The blonde tried to stand up, but the brunette caught her wrist, effectively stopping her._

 _"_ _You can sleep with me?" She whispered in a shy and tentative voice that made Quinn's heart flutter with tenderness. She didn't need to be told twice. She crawled over the brunette and lied beside her, under the thick duvet._

 _"_ _Try and get more sleep, you need it." Quinn lied on her back, resting her head on Rachel's pillow. Suddenly, she felt tiredness overcoming her. Maybe it was the tension from the party. The concern over Rachel's wellbeing. The urge to repress the newly developed feelings for the girl sleeping in her bed, so close to her._

 _Maybe it was just Lima._

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They hadn't moved from the office. The door was still closed but they had now moved onto the couch, with a bottle of whiskey in front of them, sitting on the coffee table. Rachel's shoes lied by the couch, feeling she didn't need to kill her own feet while she tried and clear the air with her ex. The blonde, on the other hand, was casually leaning against the other side of the couch, staring out of the window and sipping from her glass, probably lost in her own thoughts and ghosts from her past.

"Why didn't you return any of my calls? Or my texts? You said we'd be staying in touch." Rachel reached for her glass, taking a long sip and staring at the back of Quinn's head.

"I was in a very bad place, Rachel, and I had just moved across the country and away from the person I loved the most in my whole life. I would have never been able to stay away from you, if I had stayed in touch." Quinn sighed and turned to stare back at the other girl. "I would have just distracted you, from what really mattered for you."

"You mattered to me, Quinn. Hell, you were my world and you chose to leave me behind." Rachel's eyes moved from the blonde's face, not wanting to let her catch a glimpse of her moist eyes. "I trusted you not to leave me behind, but you just dropped me like I didn't matter, like you didn't need me anymore."

"Oh god no. That's not why I didn't reply anymore. I needed you. I needed you so bad, but after all those talks about you belonging here, to New York and Broadway, how could I be the reason you gave up on it? I hate myself for having let you go. I hate myself for having hurt you, but I would have hated myself even more, if I had taken you away from this. You belong here, Rachel." Quinn reached for the brunette's hand, but the other girl moved away from her.

"It wasn't your choice to make, Quinn. You didn't give me any choice. Who gave you that right to do so?" Rachel looked back at the blonde, with tears streaming down her face. "I could have had both, Quinn. I could have had you and this, I would have juggled. I would have found a way to be there for you and follow my dreams."

"How, Rachel? I moved across the freaking country, on a different time zone and so far that you'd have to invest all your money to buy expensive plane tickets. Do you think we would have just survived with Skype calls and phone calls? I didn't even fly back for the holidays. You know when did I go back to Lima? To sell my parents' house." Quinn finished her glass and poured herself another. "We would have ended up resenting each other, because of the distance. Then there would have been jealousy and who knows what else. We would have never survived that!"

"You don't know that! You didn't know what the future could behold for us and you didn't trust enough to even take that leap of faith! You just chose it was too hard and you'd rather drop me on my ass, than working with me and fighting for us." Rachel slammed the glass on the coffee table, cracking it. "You just cowardly took the easiest way out."

"Oh yes, I am a coward. I am a coward who would rather see you achieve your dreams without me, than resenting me for having taken you away from it. I am a coward because I didn't choose to go through a long-distance relationship, that would have ended up with you making a choice between us and your dreams." Quinn shook her head and turned to face the brunette. "There would have been a moment for you to choose, Rachel. I would have ended up asking you to choose to move across the Country to be with me. Pardon me, but I'd rather be a coward than getting resented for having taken you away from your dreams."

"Who asked you to make that choice? What if I had chosen you over New York? What if I had been ready to make that choice because you meant to me more than New York or Broadway? I could have pursued this career everywhere, but there was no one else like you for me, Quinn. When will you get that?" Rachel slipped her shoes on and grabbed her coat, heading for the door. "Maybe you should ask yourself if you had even been ready for me to choose you, after all." With that said, she slammed the door and left the office in a hurry.

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 _Quinn was in her driveway, washing her mother's SUV when she saw Finn and Rachel walking out of the girl's door, holding hands and smiling at each other. The tall boy leaned down to peck her lips softly, before getting into his old truck and driving away, honking as he turned the corner. She couldn't help but shake her head at the guy, who kept on taking the brunette girl for granted, even if Rachel could deserve better. Better than a small town boy, whose biggest achievement was being the quarterback of a mediocre football team._

 _"_ _Good morning, Quinn. How are you, today?" Rachel beamed at her, leaning against the mail box and watching the other girl soap the big car._

 _"_ _Hey." Quinn returned her smile. "I am fine. You look happy, did you and Finn make up?" She nodded toward what she had witnessed just few minutes before, despite how infuriating that scene had been._

 _"_ _Yes. He asked me to deliver an apology to you, as well, for the derogative slurs he used to define your sexual preferences." She perched herself on the white fence, watching the blonde rinse the car from the soap._

 _"_ _Guess walking here and telling me on his own was too much effort?" She chuckled humorlessly, starting from the back of the car._

 _"_ _He was just in a rush. He is helping his step dad with the tire shop and we kind of got lost track of time." Rachel looked away embarrassed, blushing._

 _"_ _You definitely made up, big time." Quinn muttered, carefully rinsing the soap off the car's side windows. Once satisfied, she moved to the front of the car to get the white foam off the hood of the car and the window. "I hope you are taking care of the protections, because he doesn't seem like the kind of guy worrying about that."_

 _"_ _We haven't done that, yet. Finn wants to take that step with me, but I am not sure." Rachel stared at Quinn, still blushing. "I know it sounds stupid, but I thought I'd wait after I had gotten my EGOT or after college, once my professional goals had been set. Plus, sometimes I feel like Finn just want to do it, without the proper setup. With no romanticism. With no atmosphere."_

 _"_ _If you don't feel ready for that, then don't do it." Quinn turned the hose off and grabbed the towel, to rinse the car. "If I could turn back in time, I would have waited as well for someone that I really loved." She looked back at Rachel. "I know you love him, but you don't owe him anything. Your first time is something that should happen on your conditions, when you feel ready to take that step. Whether it's now or in 20 years. Is his first time as well?" She started rinsing the car, throwing glances at the girl from time to time._

 _"_ _No. He actually told me he was still a virgin, but then I found out he had lost it…to Santana." She rubbed her hands together. "But he didn't mean to. We had a fallout and he did it with her."_

 _"_ _How can you not mean to have sex with someone? Unless, Santana had sex with him without his consent, it's not like he fell in and out of her by mistake." Quinn raised her eyebrow in puzzlement. She was so right about this Finn guy being a huge tool._

 _"_ _Must you be so crude? You don't know Finn. He means well. Plus, if I hadn't pushed him away, he wouldn't have let Santana lure him into her bed." Rachel stood up and crossed her arms over her chest._

 _"_ _Just because you pushed him away, he could have resisted her, Rachel. There's always a moment, when you decide to do something or not to." Quinn slung the towel over her shoulder, leaning against the side of the car to stare back at the brunette. "And he probably felt guilty about that, because he knew he had done something he shouldn't have. That's why people lie."_

 _"_ _You don't know him, Quinn. You don't know him the way I do, so why are you being so judgmental of what we have?" Rachel's voice raised, feeling the anger bubbling inside of her. She felt angry because of the hurt and the betrayal she had felt, when Finn had been called out on his lies. When he had told her, she had pushed him into Santana's arms. When he had blamed her for his lack of control._

 _"_ _You are right, I don't know him and to be honest, I don't think I am missing anything here. He walks around like some stud, thinking he could charm any girl with his dopey smile. Did you even notice how his eyes wandered at the party? Do you see you are worshipping the ground he walks, when it should be the other way around?" Quinn threw the towel to the floor and took a step forward, getting into the other girl's face. "You are so much better than Finn Hudson, than Santana Lopez and this small town and you don't even know it. They spent years making you feel small and bad about yourself, that you ended up believing all of their lies and envious words." She was so close. She could feel the brunette's breath on her lips. She could almost taste her._

 _"_ _Quinn…" Rachel could only blink silently and stare up at the other girl. Her hazel eyes had filled with a fire and passion that she had never seen in Finn's eyes, not even when they had just started dating. They were filled with affection, compassion and longing. Almost if they were filled with love. But how could it be possible? They had just met up. Quinn could have had anyone. Why was she staring at her in that way?_

 _"_ _There's so much more than a high school romance with the most popular boy in the school." Quinn was tempted to close the remaining distance between them, finally placing her lips upon Rachel's. But she did not. She took a step back and breathed in deeply, needing to distance herself from the other girl. "Rachel, if you keep looking for that happy ending, you will never get it right." With that said, she retrieved the buckets and the towels, walking up the driveway towards the garage._

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When Rachel stirred awake, she found herself in her familiar living room. Her eyes were puffy for having cried herself to sleep and her throat ached. She had just collapsed on the couch, curled around herself with the Columbia lion mascot pressed against her chest. She didn't even remember falling asleep, but the stress and the exhaustion after that confrontation had probably worn her out.

"Hey, I didn't hear you come home." Jesse's soothing voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "I made you a cup of tea, here." He sat on the coffee table, handing her the fuming mug as he stared at her. "What happened that upset you so much?"

"I'd rather not talk about it." Her voice was hoarse. She took long sips from the mug, feeling her throat soothe as the warm liquid descended. "I didn't want to wake you up, so I collapsed here." She took another long sip and then, placed the mug down. "Aren't you running late for the matinée?"

"I can run in late, I am worried about you. I can stay home and we can just talk?" He reached to cup her face in his palm, but she just pulled away to stand up. "Where are you going?"

"I need to clear my mind." She walked into the bedroom, changing out of her dress in a pair of black leggings and t-shirt, under a zip-up hoodie. She sat on the bed to slip her running shoes on, ignoring the worried look on her boyfriend's face.

"Why do you put these walls up around you? I am not trying to be noisy. I just want to understand." Jesse stood in the doorway, blocking her from leaving the bedroom.

"What's there to understand? I had a rough evening and now, I need to have a run. Simple as that." She slipped under his outstretched arm, grabbing a baseball cap to go along with that outfit.

"Right, so I shouldn't even ask why my girlfriend comes home from a night out with friends to cry herself to sleep? Did someone hurt you? I can-"

"I am okay. Stop worrying." She leaned up to kiss his cheek and walked through the door, making sure to have her phone and wallet inside her pockets.

"Since when are you a fan of Columbia University? I thought you had attended NYADA." His words stopped her on the doorway. She quickly looked down at her upper clothes, taking note of the Columbia brand all over her hoodie and t-shirt, and then slammed the door behind herself.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

 _What happened in Quinn's driveway was still lingering in her mind. She hadn't been able to shrug her words off, nor the way she was staring at her. Her hazel eyes could be so intense that Rachel had often found herself gulping an imaginary lump down her throat, not knowing how to deal with them. Quinn was a pretty girl, probably the prettiest girl she had ever seen, but the way she looked at her made her feel so beautiful. Finn had never looked at her that way; she had always felt so insecure about her looks when girls like Santana or Brittany wandered around the school, in their perfect Cheerio uniforms and bodies._

 _With that thought in her mind, she entered the school on the first day of her Senior Year. Finn hadn't been able to drive her, because of Football and she hadn't asked Quinn, because they were still not on speaking terms. She walked toward her locker, sighing at the thought of another year of slushies and being treated like an underdog, even by her own boyfriend. Was he even worthy? Things with Finn hadn't been rocky, but not as pleasant either. They had made up, yes, and he had hinted multiple times about wanting to go further with her, but something in her gut told her she wasn't ready for that. Not yet._

 _She was standing by her locker, staring at the cat calendar she had made for Finn – he had never reclaimed that back, after their last break up – when the students started whispering, with eyes lingering on the main entrance. Curiosity got the best of her, so she turned towards the main door only to see a familiar blonde strut down the hallways, sporting a brand new look. She had seen some of Quinn's wardrobe, but she had never thought she'd be able to make leather look so appealing – despite her beliefs against animal products._

 _"_ _Wow, new girl is hot." Santana and Brittany joined her side, with their pinkies linked, as they all witnessed Quinn parting the crowd with easiness. Her blonde hair had been shortened and styled in a wilder mane, aided by the use of a bandana that kept it high, her t-shirts had been replaced by a sleeveless and ripped one, under a leather vest. Both barely reached her midriff, allowing her to show off her toned abs. Everything was completed by dark fitting jeans and motorcycle boots, that probably had seen better days._

 _"_ _Rachel. Girls." Quinn nodded toward the trio, before finding her locker. She opened It effortlessly, throwing some of her stuff inside and gathering some of her new books. Quickly, she scanned her schedule before slamming the locker shut, only to find a couple of jocks waiting on her, with two cups in their hands. "Gentlemen, what can I do for you?" She leaned against her locker, not even bothering to look concerned over the impending attack._

 _"_ _Shut up, lesbro. We have a welcome gift from Puckerman." They snickered toward the blonde, ready to throw their slushies at her, when someone behind her caught their eyes. Their hands froze midair, shaking with some fear and letting some of the sticky liquid drip on the floor, not on Quinn's boots._

 _"_ _Are they giving you any trouble, Quinn?" Dave hovered behind the blonde, who shook her head and grabbed one of the offered cups, taking a gulp._

 _"_ _Grape, my favorite. Please send my fuck you to your friend." She turned around to see her new friend – and protector – offering him a sip of her cold beverage, that he turned down politely. "Do you know where AP Chemistry is? I wouldn't want to get lost on the first day of school."_

 _"_ _C'mon, I'll walk you there." He nodded toward the hallway on their left, silently asking her to follow him. The blonde threw the cup into the nearest trashcan and fell in step with him, starting a conversation about the last basketball game._

 _"_ _Alright, when did the giant and the new girl become best buddies? Are they dating or something?" Santana turned toward Rachel, who was still staring at Quinn's locker, with a puzzled look. "Earth to Berry. Berry!" She shouted in the girl's face, who jumped at the abrupt sound and stared at the Latina with a frown._

 _"_ _I don't know Santana, I haven't actually spoken to Quinn in a week or so." She slammed the locker door closed and held her books against her chest._

 _"_ _How comes? Troubles in paradise?" She snickered, before Brittany nudged her in the stomach._

 _"_ _Why should that expression fit our situation? Quinn and I are just friends. I am with Finn and there are no troubles on the horizon for us, even if you'd like that very much don't you?" She started walking toward her first class, ignoring the knowing look on the Head Cheerleader's face._

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Whenever she needed to clear her mind, her feet somehow took her to Central Park. She had always loved running, but jogging surrounded by the City was something totally different. It gave her perspective and it calmed her enough to see things for the way they were. It only took her 24 hours to have her life turn upside down. Only 24hours and a familiar blonde popping back from the past. She was living a simple and apparently happy life. She had found her balance between her professional achievements and her steady relationship with Jesse, who matched her but did not challenge her. Her once co-star and now boyfriend supported her and knew how to stand by her side, having his own piece of fame to deal with, and she was fine with that.

Or, at least, so she thought.

Standing in the middle of the jogging track, she slipped her iPhone out of her arm band just to check her texts and missed calls. She found two from Cassandra and few texts from both Tina and Jesse, asking to get back to them as soon as she could. Sighing she stood straighter, thinking of what to reply and which one to answer first, when a random guy came out of nowhere and grabbed the phone from her hand, running away with it.

"Too slow, bitch!" He yelled after her, speeding away and pushing through the joggers to escape.

"Get back here, asshole!" Rachel took after the random guy. She didn't even know why she was chasing after the thief. She knew better than taking charge of these situations on her own. Her Daddies had always warned her that material possessions, such as wallets or phones, were not even worthy of endangering her own life. In that moment, though, she was not caring nor thinking about that advice.

She kept on running after the guy, not letting him get out of her sight. She saw him turn toward the South entrance of the park, cutting through the trees and jumping over people sleeping and just enjoying the sun, when someone tackled him onto the ground. A familiar blonde haired woman was rolling around with the thief, throwing some good solid punches and avoiding the guy who was fighting back, before finally getting the upper hand and pinning him face first into the grass, with his hands behind his back.

"Quinn?!" Rachel stood few feet from them, unable to tear her eyes off the blonde who had the guy pinned to the grass, with a small crowd gathering around her.

"Hey star." Quinn said out of habit. She smiled up at the brunette, sitting on the guy's back who was still trying to get away from her iron grip. "Down boy, you're gonna get taken care of." She looked around, relieved that two cops were finally jogging their way, having been alerted about the situation. The blonde girl pushed back, releasing the guy as the cops took him in custody, taking him away from the scene. "Is this yours?" Quinn walked to the stunned brunette, handing her the iPhone.

"You are such an idiot, Quinn Fabray!" Rachel hit the blonde upside her head. She kept on hitting her arms and chest, making the blonde back a few steps and covering herself with her own arms.

"Ouch, woman. A thank you would have been more than enough." She grabbed the brunette's wandering hands, pinning them to side as she took her into her arms, to block her attacks.

"You could have gotten hurt. What's wrong with you?" Rachel tried to escape that grip, but she just stood there, unable to stare up into those familiar eyes.

"I can take care of myself, star." Quinn released her arms, taking her hands in her own and checking her knuckles. "He didn't hurt you, did he?" She looked up and down the brunette's body, hoping not to find any bruise or cut, or she'd have to run after the guy to teach him a better lesson.

"No he didn't. But he hurt you." The brunette reached up, brushing her fingertips over the light purple bruise below the blonde's eye. "Does it hurt?" The pad of her thumb grazed the swollen cheek, making the taller girl flinch lightly.

"Nothing that some ice can't fix." Quinn smiled, closing her eyes at the feeling of Rachel's fingers brush over her sensitive skin. "Do you want to join me for breakfast? My treat."

"Only because you came to my rescue, but it's my treat." Rachel nodded and took the blonde by the hand, leading her towards the closest Starbucks.

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 _When Quinn walked back inside her room, she was surprised to find Rachel waiting for her, sitting at her desk and browsing through her music collection. The blonde slammed the door shut and dropped the bag onto the floor, announcing her presence._

 _"_ _Quinn, you scared me!" Rachel turned around on her desk chair, holding a hand over her chest._

 _"_ _Last time I checked, this was my room. So, shouldn't I be the one scared to find an intruder going through my stuff?" Quinn sat at the edge of her bed, taking her combat boots off, along with her socks. She loved those shoes, but freeing her feet from them was equally enjoyable._

 _"_ _An intruder? I thought we were past that, has your boyfriend brainwashed you about losers like me?" Rachel scoffed and grabbed her bag, ready to perform a storm out._

 _"_ _Keep Dave out of this. If it hadn't been for him, you would have started your last year being laughed about, and not even your precious Finn would have been able to do anything about it. But it's not like he cares about protecting you." It was Quinn's turn to scoff._

 _"_ _What's that supposed to mean, now? Why are you so angry at Finn? You don't know him!" Rachel got into the blonde's face, who had still a small height advantage on her._

 _"_ _And like I told you weeks ago, I don't care about knowing him." Quinn took a step back and crossed her arms over her chest. "Look, Rachel, why are you even here? I am tired and I need to work on my homework. So, just go."_

 _"_ _I wanted to talk to you, Quinn. I thought we were friends but I don't know what made you change your mind about it. Guess you are not any different from those pretty girls at McKinley who think too high of themselves." Rachel went to walk to the door and open it, when a hand stopped her from going._

 _"_ _Do you really think I am that shallow? Geez, Rachel, you are so quick to jump my throat for having befriended Dave, but you don't see the flaws in the guy standing beside you? The same guy who left you alone at a party, when anything could have happened to you? He left you alone and do you know who brought you home? Do you even remember who freaking saved you before something bad or even worse happened to you?" Quinn slammed her fist against the door, looking down into Rachel's shocked face. "I DID! I fucking did it but I didn't even deserve a thank you, because you were so focused on making up with some guy who just wants to get into your pants!" Quinn pulled back, afraid of making a mistakes because of the closeness and the lack of space between them. Rachel had the power to make her lose control and she loved and hated it at the same time. "You should go, Rachel. I don't have anything else to say."_

 _"_ _Quinn, I didn't know…if I had known…" Rachel tried to step closer to the blonde, who crossed her arms over her chest and looked away from her._

 _"_ _Nothing would have changed, Rachel. I am not that naïve to expect anything to change, because Finn is never going to do anything wrong in your eyes." Quinn chuckled sadly, wiping the corner of her eyes._

 _"_ _Quinn…" Rachel tried again, only to see the other girl turn around and sit at her desk, with her back turned to her._

 _"_ _Just go, Rachel." Quinn whispered one last time, before putting earplugs in her ears and numbing herself with the sound of her favorite playlist. Rachel could only turn on her heels and walk out of the door, with million thoughts running through her head._

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They had found a nice and private table by the window, in the back of the coffee shop, so they could still take a peek at the world outside when the elephant in the room became too big to handle. Quinn had an icepack pressed against her cheekbone, flinching from both the coldness and the ache caused by the punch she had received; Rachel, on the other hand, had just sat a tray with two mugs of hot coffee – vegan caramel Frappuccino for herself – and a vegan blueberry muffin, big enough for them to share. Sitting back against the back of the chair, she couldn't help but take into Quinn's more mature facial features: starting from the eyes that had visibly hardened and saddened, to the tight smile and the small wrinkles each side of her lips. She was more mature and aware of herself, but also had lost the carefreeness of her young years.

"Is it the first time you got mugged?" Quinn broke the silence and interrupted her train of thoughts. "I sincerely hope so, but if it ever occurred again, please do not run after them. He could have hurt you or done worse."

"I know how to behave in these situations, Quinn. My daddies gave me a long speech about the dangers of living in a city like New York." Rachel huffed in protest and crossed her arms over her chest, pouting lightly.

"Yet, you chose to chase the guy through Central Park? You sure you got the speech right?" Quinn chuckled and took a bite from the muffin, licking her fingertips. "This vegan muffin tastes as good as the true one."

"I was perfectly fine before you stepped in, to play the hero. I could ask you the same, since you tackled him on the ground and were lucky enough to get away just with the bruise. He could have stabbed you or-"

"I know how to defend myself. Dave gave me self-defense lessons, even if I never practice them when he's around. He is such a papa bear." The blonde drank her coffee and put the icepack down, touching her bruise to assess the damage. "Oh well, guess the magazine shots must wait a couple of weeks."

"He worries about your safety and he is right about that. You have a thing for troubles, Quinn." Rachel grabbed the pack and pressed it back against the swollen cheek, rolling her eyes at the blonde flinching away from her. "What magazine shots?"

"The NY Times is writing an article about our club and they want to interview us, but you know Dave…" Quinn shrugged softly and covered the brunette's hand with her own, keeping them against her cheek. "So, I am going to pose for a few pictures and release the interview. I think Tina is writing the article, to be honest."

"She is doing great with her job, so it doesn't surprise me that she is behind the article. I'll tell her to get your shots from the left or just get a good make-up artist." Rachel smiled and brushed the pad of her thumb below the blonde's eye, watching her close it in return. "You have changed…"

"Life does that to you." Quinn smiled sadly and lowered both their hands, lacing her fingers with the brunette's ones. "The years have been great to you, but I was pretty confident over that."

"Always the smooth talker huh?" Rachel pulled her hand back and folded them in her lap, unable to keep on staring in Quinn's deep eyes without losing herself into them and the memories of their life together.

"Does he make you happy?" Quinn's question was almost a whisper, but weighed like a tons of bricks dumped on her heart.

"You can't ask me that, Quinn. It's not fair." Rachel looked back at the blonde, who wore a sad smile, already getting the answer she probably expected but still didn't hope for.

"I am happy if you are happy. Rachel. He looks like a good guy, compared to your previous love interests." It was the blonde's turn to stare out of the window, eyes scanning the skylight in the distance. "He could have been a giant moron like Finn or…"

"Or could break my heart in thousand pieces like you did?" Rachel chuckled humorlessly, emptying her cup of coffee in one gulp.

"Or that, yes." Quinn stared back at her ex, who wore an unreadable expression. "I don't know if I ever apologized for having hurt you so bad, Rachel."

"No you never did that. You just dropped out of my life, as if I never mattered to you." Rachel went to retrieve her purse, ready to bolt out of there.

"You mattered to me, God Rach you were the only thing that mattered to me, and I am sorry for having hurt you so bad and for being a coward." Quinn stood up, blocking the brunette from leaving. "I am really sorry, star." She looked down into those chocolate eyes, filled with unshed tears.

"Please, stop calling me that." Rachel looked away, gripping her purse very tightly.

"You are a star. I was right about that, all along." Quinn dropped a soft kiss against the top of her head, feeling the brunette relax against her touch.

"I have to go. My show and…" Rachel was resisting so bad the need to fall into those familiar arms, with her face pressed against her strong chest to hear her steady heartbeat quicken for her, like she used to whenever she needed to feel 'home'. Quinn had always been home.

"I know; I won't keep you any longer. Thanks for breakfast." The blonde took a step back and squeezed her hand gently, before taking her seat back to move out of Rachel's way. The brunette nodded quickly and walked out of the store, without looking back but very much aware that the blonde's eyes were still on her until she disappeared from her sight.

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 _Rachel was confused. Being casted as Maria for West Side Story had been one of her dreams, of course she had thought it'd happen on Broadway and not in Lima, as a school play. She thought she was ready for that, but apparently, she was lacking something. Something that she couldn't achieve unless she took that step with her boyfriend. Unless she fully explored her sexuality._

 _But was a school play role even worth it of rushing into something she wasn't ready for? She had so many doubts and questions about it. She knew she was one of the last few girls of her year to have kept her virginity intact, but she had always wanted to wait. Wait for the right moment. After all of her accomplishments. What if she wanted to wait to be 25 years old because she didn't trust her partner with something as important as her virginity? What if she wanted this to happen on her terms and not on Artie's or Finn's ones?_

 _She didn't know what to do. Talking with the other girls from Glee had not helped. Talking with Finn wouldn't have helped, knowing his eagerness and desire to take that step with her. What to do? Who to talk to? Her Dads were out of question. Quinn? If only things hadn't been so awkward between them._

 _"_ _Rachel, dear, are you okay?" Judy Fabray was working in her roses, when she had caught sight of Rachel mumbling to herself on her way home._

 _"_ _Mrs. Fabray, how are you doing?" Rachel crossed the street and stood on the other side of the white fence, staring at the blossoming roses. "These look amazing. I wish my Daddies put some roses around our house, as well."_

 _"_ _I could always teach you, dear. My Quinn is not one for gardening, she would rather get her hands dirty with car engines." The older woman took her gloves off and wiped her hands on the front of her worn out shirt. "You look shaken, is everything okay?"_

 _"_ _May I be extremely blunt, Mrs. Fabray?" Rachel fidgeted with her hands. "When do you know it is the right moment to become intimate with someone?" She blushed, asking that question and blurting it out like that._

 _"_ _I think this conversation requires a hot cup of tea, honey." Judy took the brunette inside, wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulders._

 _Fifteen minutes later, Rachel and Judy sat in her kitchen sipping tea from their mugs. The older woman placed her cup down and took the brunette's free hand in her own, trying to convey some comfort through that small gesture. "Dear, didn't your parents give you the sex talk when you started dating that boy?"_

 _"_ _They did. Daddy actually wanted to have a talk with Finn, but Dad and I persuaded not to. He would have ended up intimidating him, he is one of the best lawyers in town for that same reason." Rachel chuckled and sat her mug down. "My Dads put me on the pill and provided me with the right amount of protection, but that's all. We never explored the feelings behind the act of being intimate with someone."_

 _"_ _Well, I must ask this. Do you feel ready to do this, Rachel? I don't know if it is this boy's first time or not, but it shouldn't affect your choice. It is your first time and you should do it, only if you want and feel ready for it." Judy squeezed her hand softly._

 _"_ _We've been together, with some troubles, for the past two years. I think it's time we take that step together; I should not make him wait any longer." Rachel muttered softly._

 _"_ _Rachel, look at me." Judy cupped the girl's face with her palm. "You don't owe him anything. If you don't feel ready and he loves you the way he is supposed to, he will respect your choice and wait for you even twenty years. Time is not a critical factor, honey. Russell and I had been dating for about 3 months when we took that step together. I just knew that it was the right choice. That he was right for me and that I trusted his love for me." She smiled and dropped her hand back over Rachel's one. "Before Russell, I was with two other boys and one was my high school sweetheart. We stayed together for more than 3 years, but I knew that I wasn't ready to do it with him. So believe me when I say that time is not relevant, Rachel."_

 _"_ _But I don't want to hurt him. He has been so patient with me, already." Rachel whispered, thinking of the disappointment Finn would feel upon hearing another no from her._

 _"_ _And if he loves you, it won't matter to him. If your hesitance and desire to wait hurt him, then he is not the guy you are portraying him to be, Rachel." Judy squeezed her hand one more time. "Talk to him, maybe he shares your same fears and uncertainties." She stood up kissing her temple, hearing the sound of keys being placed in the lock and door opening._

 _"_ _Honey, I'm home." Russell walked into the kitchen, surprised to find their neighbors' daughter sitting there. "Hello Rachel, how are you doing?" He squeezed her shoulder softly, before greeting his wife with a soft kiss. "Do you want to stay for dinner, dear?" He tried to sneak a tomato out of the salad, but Judy slapped his hand away._

 _"_ _Russell Fabray, go wash your hands!" She pointed to the sink and crossed her arms over her chest, with an amused smile. "Men. They are such cavemen when it comes to food."_

 _"_ _You see Rachel? That's what you get after 20 years of marriage." He stuck her tongue out at his wife, who grabbed the kitchen apron and threw it at his face. Rachel couldn't help but smile at that interaction, like what her parents still do in her own house. But when she tried to picture Finn and herself in that predicament, she failed to see the resemblance and the same harmony. Maybe it was a sign, after all…_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: trigger warning for attempted assault.**

 **CHAPTER 4**

The photoshoot was just ending and she was so glad for it. She loathed standing in front of a camera, smiling and posing like a domesticated monkey while a bunch of strangers told her how to look like or stopped her to fix a rebellious strand of hair. She was holding on, only to do Tina a favor, since she was the pen behind the article that was going to also bring more people to their club. It was not just a shallow photoshoot, after all.

"Ok, princess. Hands on the bar counter and look at me, with a winning smile. Nobody wants to pay an Ice Queen for a drink." The smug photographer snorted. He had been giving her a hard time since she had started the shooting.

"I'm gonna kick your ass, as soon as we are done." She said through gritted teeth, posing the way she was asked. Her eyes landed on Tina and Dave on the side, who were fully aware she was close to blow it up and kick some sense into the idiot behind the camera.

"And we are done." He pulled back from the camera, lightly clapping – mostly to himself – and moving towards the blonde, who had walked around the counter and taken the designer jacket off, handing it back to one of the girls walking by. "Maybe we can review your pictures in front of dinner, let's say 7PM tonight?" He placed a hand on her shoulder, brushing his fingers on her exposed skin.

"You better get that off me or I'll break your arm." Quinn stopped Dave from coming forward, to take it from there. She could handle herself pretty fine.

"I like a girl who can fight back, maybe we should skip dinner." He cupped her cheek with his palm, but as soon as he did, he found himself kissing the wooden counter with his arm twisted behind his back.

"Let me clarify that. I am not interested in any private meeting with you, so you better keep it in your pants and learn how to respect a girl who says no." She shoved him more and then took a step back, earning few approving glares from the girls who had witnessed the scene. "Tina, maybe we can move it to my office?" She fixed her hair in a high ponytail, nodding to the brunette who just smiled and followed her upstairs.

Ten minutes and two bourbons later, the two women sat on the comfortable sofa in Quinn's office, laughing over the very recent episode happened downstairs. Tina took a moment to study her longtime and re-found friend, who had caused so much anguish but also happiness to her best friend. Quinn was still breathtaking. It was a fact. She still remembered thinking that the first moment she had spotted her and the years had just enhanced a feature, that was probably never going away even in 30 years.

"Shall we start?" Quinn undid the first two buttons of her Oxford shirt, rolling the sleeves up to her elbows, exposing the inked mark on her right wrist, that still reminded her of a lost love and a promise she broke.

"Does she know you still have it?" Tina pointed to the tattoo. She knew it was familiar, but didn't think they had still kept it in place, despite the different paths life had taken them through.

"Yes, of course. She has not removed hers, not yet." Quinn traced the shape with her fingertip, sighing in deeply. "Is he a good guy?"

"He treats her right." Tina nodded reassuringly. "She won't wait forever, Quinn. Don't you think she waited enough already?" She grabbed her notepad from her designer purse and started from a blank page.

"I know, Tina, but I cannot really waltz back into her life and expect to start from where we left things off. She has a right to ignore me and keep going with her life, even without me." She rubbed her face with both palms, feeling the sweat drip along her back.

"I clearly remember you were a fighter, Quinn Fabray. Since when are you scared of failing? Look at yourself and your achievements. You are building a solid business from nothing and you can't fight for the woman you still love?" Tina shook her head. "You were a coward back then, but mistakes are meant to happen so we can learn from them. I know you learnt your lesson, otherwise you wouldn't have come to NY of all the places in the free world."

"I guess you are right." She sighed, rubbing her tattoo out of habit. "I need to make up for the missing years and the mess I made. I don't think there's anyone else for me, besides Rachel. No one but her."

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 _When the doorbell rang, Rachel fought the urge to ignore it and just curl herself into a ball, crying her pain away. She was sobbing uncontrollably. She was hardly breathing; despite all the techniques she knew because of her vocal lessons. Her chest hurt for the pain of having her heart shattered by the boy that she loved. By the boy she had so firmly believed into._

 _"_ _Rachel, I know you are there. I saw Finn leave." Quinn knocked on the door with more insistence. "I want to know if you are okay, please."_

 _Upon hearing this, the brunette slowly got back on her feet and stumbled toward the door. She could barely see for the tears in her eyes. She really wanted to crawl in her bed and sleep for days, hoping her heart would mend on its own. How could have she wasted so much time on someone like Finn? Someone who was just waiting for the right moment to take all of his anger out on her? Who did that to someone they claimed to love?_

 _"_ _Rachel, what happen-" Quinn barely had time to brace herself against the door, when Rachel collapsed against her chest, soaking her t-shirt with fresh tears. "It's gonna be okay, Rachel." She whispered softly, holding the brunette up against her. Closing the door behind herself, she leaned down to scoop the brunette up in her arms and walk into the living room. She took a seat on the couch, cradling the girl against her as she cried her eyes out._

 _"_ _How could he? Why?" Rachel's words were incoherent. They did not make sense to Quinn. But it was Finn's behavior that did not make any sense to Rachel. How could he be so spiteful and hateful towards her? Because she wanted to wait? Because she was not putting out and he was not getting laid, like the other guys at McKinley? Even remembering his words was hurting her._

 _"_ _I don't know, Rachel. But he is an idiot for hurting you." Quinn whispered softly in her ear, pressing gentle kisses against her forehead. "Did he even dare to touch you? Cause I will kill him with my bare hands?" The blonde pulled away to take a look at the brunette's face, searching for any sign of abuse._

 _"_ _No. No, he did not…" Rachel buried her face into the blonde's neck, sighing loudly as the sobs subsided. She started shivering against the other girl, who threw a blanket around their frames._

 _"_ _Want to tell me what happened between you two?" Quinn rubbed soft circles against the girl's back, who nuzzled more into her neck, seeking comfort from her warmth and secure grip._

 _"_ _We were supposed to have a date night here, taking advantage of my dads' absence." Rachel sighed softly, wiping her eyes with the sleeves of her sweatshirt. "He thought we'd take a step forward in our relationship. He thought we'd-"_

 _"_ _Have sex?" Quinn sighed and brushed the brunette's hair slowly, giving her the comfort to go on or even stop. It did not matter to her. She just wanted to make Rachel feel better._

 _"_ _Yes. But…I didn't feel ready. I didn't think we should have done that and I told him. I told him I wanted to wait because I was not ready, because it is something that should happen when and how I see it fit happening." Rachel pulled back to stare up at the blonde, who nodded softly. "He lost it. He started lashing out at me. He called me selfish and self-conceited, because I was not giving him what other guys get and even take from their girlfriends. Because he could have had anyone and he chose to stick with me, but I was not giving him anything in return. I had never seen him so mad, Quinn." She felt tears forming in her eyes, recalling the anger coming from Finn and her own fear._

 _"_ _If he thinks you owe him anything, he is very mistaken, Rachel. Sex is a choice that you make, no one else. If he can't accept that, then it's better if you part ways." Quinn held her a little tighter. "He doesn't deserve your pain."_

 _"_ _I have no one, Quinn. He is right, he could have had anyone and he chose me. I am no one." She sobbed against the girl's neck, gripping the front of her shirt._

 _"_ _You have me, I promise you I won't go anywhere." Quinn whispered and just held her._

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"Tina, hey!" Rachel hugged her best friend, holding on a little longer to better express her happiness and pride for her work achievements. "How does it feel to be one of the youngest and most read columnists for the NYT?" She squeezed her friend in another hug, kissing her cheek.

"Honestly? Fucking amazing!" The brunette clapped her hands together and waved the waiter over, ordering a new round of tequila for the whole table. She had invited some of her college friends over, along with Rachel and her boyfriend, of course. "I feel like on top of the world!" She hollered and downed her own drink, stumbling a little before straightening herself.

"Did the party start without us?" A familiar husky voice came from behind Rachel, who looked over her shoulder to see Quinn and Dave walk up to their VIP table, handing the journalist a bouquet of red roses and a small wrapped gift.

"My favorite club owners!" Tina launched herself at the two friends, who held her weight with both arms and kissed her cheeks, at the same time. "People! Meet two of the most successful people under 30 in NYC and one of the most wanted bachelorette of the city, too." She winked at the blonde, who rubbed the back of her head and looked away from Rachel's gaze.

"I am not that famous, Tina. You are exaggerating." Quinn took a seat on one of the leather couches, taking a tequila shot to drink.

"You have no idea how many letter we are receiving, Q. There are tons of men and women, out there, who want to meet you. Some even asked for your number." Tina took a seat beside Mike, who rubbed her back slowly and nodded knowingly. "The photoshoot is just the first of many successful campaigns you two could do for your club, just think about it. It's going to be great for your revenues."

"Maybe, but we are not really into that. I'd rather leave these things to people who can handle it, like Rachel." Quinn winked at the silent brunette, who nodded distractedly and played with the straw in her own glass. "How's the show going? Any big nomination on the line?"

"The Tony's awards should be writing down the list pretty soon, so I am waiting." She finished the glass, looking around the crowded club. She couldn't really hold Quinn's penetrating eyes much longer, even if they were filled with honest and interest.

"I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. I should also find some time to come see you, I read amazing reviews of your show." She smiled and finished her own drink, thanking the waitress who took the glass away from her.

"You should, even if there are better shows out there. I could fetch you some ticket, whenever you want and for whomever you want to bring along." Rachel looked up at the blonde. "Maybe for Dave or some other friend or girlfriend?"

"I am not seeing anyone, Rach and I'd gladly take a couple of tickets, only if you give me a backstage tour as well." She winked at the brunette, before being dragged to the bar by Dave. "Excuse me, best friend's duties." She called out over her shoulder, sending the brunette one last glare.

Twenty minutes later, Rachel had let Tina and a couple of her friends drag her onto the dance floor, when they were playing Tina's favorite remixed song – whose title she couldn't even remember. She had her arms up in the air, almost to touch the roof, following the upbeat rhythm and swaying her hips along with her friends, who were having a good time. The music was like freedom. She was clearing her mind out of the million thoughts chasing each other: Jesse, Broadway and Quinn, always Quinn. Since she had dropped back into her life, it seems both her mind and heart were not giving her a break with memories of their past haunting her dreams and familiar feelings resurfacing, both happy and sad ones.

"Hey luscious…" A pair of unfamiliar hands landed on her moving hips, making her stop moving so she could see whom they belonged to.

"Get your hands off me." Rachel pulled back from the guy, trying to make some room among the several dancers surrounding her. Turning around, she found herself staring up at an average looking guy, wearing a button up shirt that was obviously damp with his sweat and the overall humidity of the room.

"Oh, playing hard to get? I like them feisty." He took a step closer, trying to bring her back into his arms but she just turned around and walked away, towards their table, hoping he got the message to leave her alone.

She was pushing through the crowd, eager to get to the VIP area so she could get back into the safety of her friends' circle when someone grabbed onto her wrist, spinning her around and backing her against the club wall, away from the dance floor. The guy had one hand against the wall and the other held both her wrists behind her back, blocking her from going anywhere.

"Don't be a bitch, I was talking to you." He slurred, smirking as he took in her appearance. Her dress was tight in the right places and it just spurred him on.

"Let me go, I'll call security." Rachel tried to push back, but he was stronger and kept her right in place, with her back against the wall and his body inching closer. She could smell the alcohol and who knows what else on his breath. Shouting was going to be helpless, given the loud music, so what else could she do?

"I want to see you try." He tightened the grip around her wrists, making her wince in pain. His face moved closer to kiss her, but Rachel just turned away from him so his lips landed on her cheek, sloppily dropping kisses on her skin and up to her ear. "We should get out of here. Just me and you." He nudged her off the wall, towards the emergency exit just behind them.

"Let me go." Rachel stomped on his foot with her heel, making him loosen his grip enough for her to push against his chest and get away, but he recovered quickly enough to grab her from behind and drag her back towards the exit.

"Hey, get off!" Rachel couldn't be more relieved to see a familiar blonde come into her view. "You heard me, asshole?" She stepped forward and grabbed onto Rachel's hand, using the other to swing back and punch the guy straight into the face. The force of the hit sent the guy back and the brunette stumbling forward, into the blonde, who put herself protectively between them.

"Quinn, is everything okay?" Dave hovered behind the blonde, who was unclenching her fist. It hurt like hell, but it was worth it.

"This sleazy ass assaulted Rachel, don't let him leave and I'll get security here." Quinn turned to the brunette and led her upstairs into the VIP area, into Tina's arms before reaching out to the bouncers and pointing to the hallway where they had just come from, summarizing the situation.

"Rach…Rachel, did he hurt you?" Quinn dropped on her knees before the brunette, who was sobbing slowly and looking down at her feet. "Star, I need to know if he hurt you. We need to go to the hospital and have them check you out."

"He…no he did not hurt me." Rachel shook her head and rubbed her sore wrists, seeing a bruise forming on her skin where he had held her.

"I'll kill him." The blonde went to stand up and go after the jerk, but the singer held her in place with a hand on her arm. "He needs to learn his lesson. Do you want to report the incident? We can go down to a police station and charge him for what he tried to do."

"Can you just take me home? I want to go home." Rachel looked up at her with pleading eyes, that Quinn couldn't really fight or deny her any wish to go back to the safety of her house. She just wanted to get away from there and forget about it.

"Of course, I'll take you home." The blonde slipped her arm around her waist, holding her up and against her as they made their way toward the main exit of the club, hoping not to run into some other problem. Stepping outside, Quinn pulled the brunette's head into her, not to let her see the guy being taken away, beaten up and bloody, while Dave and the bouncers watched him go, wiping their hands not so discretely behind their backs.

Standing on the sidewalk, Quinn kept her solid grip on the brunette, who was now gripping the front of her shirt – under her light jacket – and had her face buried into the nape of her neck, breathing slowly and wiping her tears angrily, with the back of her hand. Quinn looked around in search of a cab, muttering under her breath and swearing towards all the drivers in NY, that were anywhere but there.

"Can we go to your place? I don't want to face Jesse, nor I think I can." Rachel looked up at her ex, who nodded and pressed a gentle kiss against her cold forehead, pulling her a little closer. "I am sorry, I am such a mess for something that did not even happen. I can only imagine-"

"Hey, don't say that. You are entitled to feel the way you are feeling, for how long you need it. You should not feel guilty, he is the one who did the wrong thing here…a guy like him doesn't deserve you beating yourself up for how you feel, nor you should blame it on yourself." Quinn slipped her jacket off and draped it over Rachel's slouched shoulders, pulling it close by its collar before cupping her stained cheeks with her palms. "I wish I had come sooner, if I had known…" She looked down at the bruised wrists, sighing to herself.

"If you hadn't found me, who knows what we'd be dealing with, by now. Thanks for saving me, Quinn." Rachel stepped closer and rested her forehead against the blonde's shoulder, falling into a familiar embrace that she had wanted to forget for so long, but she craved it in that specific moment. She needed that safety, more than anything. She needed Quinn to make it better.

"Anytime, star" Quinn's arms circled the back of her head and her waist, holding her tightly against her front. Her own chin dropped against the top of her head, resting it there as she tried to comfort the shaken brunette as much as she could.

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 _Being in Glee was probably the worst moment of her school day, since she and Finn had broken up. Seeing him there, joking around with Puck like nothing had happened and ignoring her felt like a stab in the gut. She could only try and focus on the theme of the day, but not even solos felt good. She couldn't help but stealing glances at the guy who had filled her high school fantasies, since she had walked into McKinley and seen him standing by the locker, with his letterman jacket on._

 _They had their ups and downs. They had their moments of uncertainty and fears but, in the end, they had always found their way back to each other. Was it really over? Over something so trivial like sex? She couldn't believe that the guy she had loved for so long, could be so shallow. So ready to throw everything out of the window, without a second thought. Maybe, if she had talked to him…maybe if she compromised. She was so absorbed in her thoughts, that she didn't even realize she was standing in the empty hallway, staring at the cat calendar in her locker._

 _"_ _Rachel?" A soft voice from behind her startled her, making her close the locker door on her hand, that was still holding onto the cat calendar. "Oh gosh, are you okay?" Quinn took her reddened hand, inspecting it gently._

 _"_ _You…you just took me by surprise, Quinn." Rachel shivered lightly, at the feeling of the girl's warm breath brush over her red knuckles._

 _"_ _I wanted to offer you a ride home. Is your Dad picking you up?" Quinn released her hand and stood back straight, staring at the brunette before her._

 _"_ _No, Dad and Daddy are in Columbus for business. I was going to walk home and spend the rest of the night with takeout and musical movies." Rachel retrieved her books from the locker behind her, slipping them inside her bag before draping it over her shoulder._

 _"_ _Nonsense, you can sleep over. My mom would love to have you for dinner." The blonde fell in step with her, walking her down the empty hallway. "How…how are you holding up? Did you talk to him?"_

 _"_ _No, he is ignoring me. It's like I never existed." The brunette shook her head in disappointment. "It's not like I didn't deserve it, I should have been more understanding of his needs."_

 _"_ _Hey, don't say that. If he can't wait for you, then he doesn't deserve you." The blonde opened the door for the petite girl, who nodded in a thankful way._

 _"_ _Easy for you to say it, Quinn. You are a very pretty girl and any guy would get in line to date you." Rachel sighed deeply, kicking a rock with the toe of her shoe. "I am just a loser, Finn was the only guy that really paid attention to me and I still wonder why."_

 _"_ _Because you are special, Rachel. Don't throw yourself under a bus because of a break-up. Finn was your first love, but he doesn't have to be the last. You will be off to college, next year, and New York will have plenty of guys and girls interested in dating you. Heck, even Lima could offer you better alternatives, if you only looked closer." Quinn opened the passenger door for her, letting her have a seat in her car, before going around it to slip in the driver seat._

 _"_ _You don't know Lima like I do, Quinn. Popular and pretty boys don't date people like me." Rachel sighed and fell back against the seat, looking out of the window._

 _"_ _Who says I am talking about guys?" Quinn casted her a quick glance, trying to read the brunette's expression despite keeping her eyes on the road._

 _"_ _No girl would choose me, Quinn. I just can't wait to leave this town already…"Rachel dropped her forehead against the cold glass, sighing deeply and failing to see Quinn's face drop in equal disappointment._

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When Rachel woke up, she found herself in an unfamiliar bed and house, albeit surrounded by a scent and warmth that she knew very well. A pale arm was draped over her waist, curled slightly to keep her from moving too far away from the sleeping body it was attached to. Quinn lied on top of the covers, on her side, with one hand under her head and the other wrapped around her wrist, in a gentle grip that did not cause her any pain nor discomfort.

Rachel knew they were back into a dangerous zone, between friendship and something more, that was not going to lead to anything good. She was with someone else and Quinn had made her choice years ago, leaving her behind, without asking her. She was with someone else, whom she thought of being in love with. She was with someone else, who was waiting for her, at home, but she hadn't bothered to call or text. She was with someone else, who hadn't held her for the whole night, protecting her from her own dreams (or nightmares).

"Hey…" Quinn's voice was so raspy and thick first in the morning. "I am sorry for invading your space, but you were having nightmares and I remembered you liked to be held, when you had them." She went to pull back, to roll on her back and off the bed, but Rachel kept her in place, as she turned on her other side to face her.

"I am glad you did. I don't recall any nightmare and I'm happy about it, after what happened." Rachel's fingers trailed up the girl's forearm, causing some goosebumps to appear along the way, before wrapping her fingers around the fabric of her night shirt.

"Your bruises look a bit better, but we should still rub some Aloe cream over it." She leaned down to kiss her wrists ever so softly, looking up into Rachel's chocolate orbs as she did so. "No one should touch a woman like that, ever." She sighed against the offended skin, placing another kiss there before settling back onto her pillow. She fought the urge to just trail her lips along the girl's arm and even upwards, to claim her pouty lips in a kiss they couldn't afford. Not yet.

"Thanks for taking care of me, I really mean it." Rachel cupped the side of her face, brushing her thumb along her jawline. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to thank you enough for it."

"You don't have to thank me, Rachel. I would still die for you, if it meant keeping you safe." Quinn smiled sincerely and leaned forward, kissing the brunette on her exposed forehead. "I am going to make some breakfast, while you attend to your many calls and texts. The phone hasn't stopped ringing, since I plugged in with my charger."

"Oh damn it. 15 missed calls and 30 texts." Rachel reached on the bedside table for it, seeing many missed items from both Jesse and her manager. She shot a quick text to her boyfriend, reassuring him about her wellbeing before dialing her manager's number, who had filled her inbox with emails and attachments that she had yet to download.

'Cassandra, hey. What's up?' she reclined back against the pillows, pulling the covers up to her chin.

'Don't play coy, Berry. Who is the hot blondie you were smooching with, last night?'

'What blondie? What the hell are you talking about?' Rachel sat up in bed, running a hand through her messy hair.

'Check my emails quickly and you'll understand what I mean. Didn't know you did swing that way, Berry. It seems I may be your type as well…' Cassandra chuckled on the other side, hearing the gasps of surprise on the other side of the phone.

'They are twisting things…she…she was just comforting me, after a sleazy asshole tried to rape me!' she stood up, pacing back and forth in front of the window. Damn paparazzi.

'Rape you? Are you okay? Do I need to move some string and get the asshole a life sentence? I'll do it.' Cassandra was not kidding. She knew people and would have done it for a client like Rachel.

'He didn't go too far, because Quinn rescued me. She was just being a good friend…' Rachel knew Cassandra had detected her lie. They were not just friends. She knew it. Quinn knew it. And so did Cassandra.

'Sure, Berry. I know that look and even if you are playing the "friends" card, you two fucked. Am I right? I believe you two were a thing for a long time and now she's back in your life. We need to do some damage control, but I need to know more about you two. Meet me at lunch in my office, we can go through our strategy while we eat.'

'Alright. We can discuss then, what do we do now? Do we need to release a statement or something?' Rachel walked out of the bedroom, to check where Quinn was. She didn't want to drag her into her public life, unless strictly necessary. 'Do I need to bring Quinn along?'

'No need to. I'll handle it, just make sure that guy of yours doesn't do more damage, with his own PR team. No one wants a pansy as a boyfriend. Have fun with the sordid affair, Berry.' With that said, Cassandra hung up.

"Where are you taking me?" Quinn leaned against the kitchen counter, sipping from her cup of coffee. She had cooked a tall pile of vegan pancakes, topped with fresh fruit, and was just waiting for the brunette to dive in.

"Nowhere, my publicist is going to handle it for us." Rachel sighed and walked up to the blonde, showing her the pics and the magazine shots, from the previous night. "I am sorry I am dragging you into this mud. I hate it."

"Oh wow, never thought I'd be on a magazine cover for being 'the blonde hottie wrecking the Broadway sweethearts' love story'. Your fans are going to throw eggs my way, if I ever show up at one of your shows." Quinn chuckled softly.

"You are not mad?" Rachel leaned across from Quinn, who shrugged her shoulders.

"I know how these things go, Rach. You are famous and in the spotlight. I am sure you dealt with pregnancy rumors, breakups and all that jazz already. This low gossip isn't going to make me run." The blonde stepped closer to the brunette and cupped her cheek with her palm. "I won't leave anymore, unless you'll want me to." She looked down into her chocolate orbs, hoping Rachel believed her to keep her promise.

 _ **please leave your reviews...**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Posting an update before a business trip. enjoy...**

 **CHAPTER 5**

 _Dinner with the Fabray's family had been pleasant. Exchanging small jokes and making conversation with Russell and Judy had helped getting Rachel's mind off her break-up with Finn. Quinn had been oddly silent, but maybe she was just giving her a chance to get to know her parents better, since she was the guest for the night. From time to time, she had noticed Judy's eyes lingering on her with interest, but maybe it was just concern after the conversation they had few weeks before that had, then, led to her fight with her ex-boyfriend._

 _When dinner was over, Russell and Judy had ushered them up in Quinn's room, so they could have the rest of the night to themselves, while they cleared the table and washed the dishes, despite Rachel's attempts to help to thank them for their hospitality. As they settled on the blonde's bed, the taller teen set her laptop between them, letting her choose what movie to start their night with._

 _"_ _Are you really letting me choose the movie?" Rachel looked at the blonde with an incredulous look. Finn never liked her movie choices, so they either watched something he picked or ended up falling asleep while the brunette watched the musical on her own._

 _"_ _Of course, you are my guest. We have plenty of time to choose something else, later." Quinn settled beside her, fluffing the pillow and reclining back in a more comfortable way. "So, what do you want to watch? Netflix should cover for as many titles as you want. If not, I am sure my mom has some original DVD we could borrow."_

 _"_ _Let me check…" Rachel crouched over Quinn's Macbook, scrolling through the titles as she picked 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'. "It is one of my favorite non-musical movies." She settled on the pillow beside the blonde, lacing her hands in her lap and staring at the screen, as the movie started to play._

 _Quinn knew the movie by heart. Her elder sister, Frannie, used to watch it at least once a month and as soon as she was old enough to understand it, she had appreciated watching it with her, making those moments memorable for them. She couldn't help but steal glances to the brunette beside her, who was now sitting up, hugging her knees to her chest, too engrossed in the movie to notice her longing glares. If she could only stop selling herself short…if she could only see there was not just Finn Hudson in Lima. That thought made Quinn sigh loudly, taking Rachel's attention away from the movie._

 _"_ _We can see something else, Quinn, I really don't mind." Rachel reached for the laptop, to switch to something else but Quinn's hand on her knee stopped her._

 _"_ _Oh no, Rachel, the movie is fine. I was just lost in my thoughts, please don't turn it off." Quinn put the laptop back in its place, gently pushing the brunette back against the pillow. "I didn't mean to bother you." She muttered and got back to watch the movie herself, trying not to let her thoughts wander off, once again._

 _"_ _Do you want to talk about it?" Rachel lowered the movie's volume and turned toward the blonde, who raised an eyebrow in her proverbial way. "About whatever is on your mind, you've been awkwardly silent since dinner. Did I do something wrong, maybe? You can tell me; we are friends. remember?" She smiled softly._

 _"_ _I…I don't think it'd be a good idea, Rach." Quinn sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Let's keep on watching the movie, okay?" She lowered herself against the bed, finding a more comfortable spot to enjoy the movie._

 _"_ _So, it's something that I did." She leaned over and paused it, closing the screen. "I don't have many friends, Quinn, and it's probably because I can be very egocentric and selfish. You are my best friend, don't shut me out." She turned toward the blonde, crossing her legs Indian style and looking down at the blonde with confusion._

 _"_ _Rach, you don't want to hear this. You just broke up with Finn and you really don't need me to add onto this." Quinn sat up on her elbows, looking away from the brunette. It was now or never. Was she ready to pour her heart out to this girl? What if she ended up ruining everything? What if she lost Rachel over this? What if Rachel didn't see her the same way she did?_

 _"_ _Finn asked you out and you want to say yes, don't you? I can see why he'd go after you. You are the prettiest girl in school. Prettier than me for sure and he could have anyone, even someone as beautiful as you are. I must be honest, I didn't expect you to go after him but I am very grateful you didn't go behind my back, because seeing you with him without having the time to get myself ready for this would have hurt more and- "Soft lips pressed against her rambling mouth, effectively shutting her up. Her eyes closed on their own accord, whilst her fingers tightened around the fabric of her PJ's pants._

 _"_ _I don't like him, Rachel." Quinn's mouth whispered against her still closed mouth. "I like you"_

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Cassandra had patched things with the press, releasing a quick statement that confirmed a deep and meaningful friendship between Rachel and the blonde woman, but didn't explain anything further than that. It was not her call to make, but Rachel's. She couldn't really out her client, for a past relationship while committed in a relationship with an ex co-star, whose team had been shut in order not to cause a bigger scene, than necessary.

Jesse had not taken the magazine shots well, but that was understandable. Many questions lingered between the two of them, mostly on Rachel's side who had kept a huge part of herself hidden and away from the guy she was supposed to want to share a life with. How could they move onto the next steps, if he wasn't even aware of his girlfriend's past with another woman? He knew about Finn and the random guys before him, but this blonde woman? She was a mystery to him.

"I think we still need to talk, Rachel." Jesse finished his meal, setting his forks down into the semi empty plate and finishing his glass of wine. "How could you not tell me about this girl? Quinn, right?" He looked around the elegant restaurant, hoping no one was catching on their conversation.

"I didn't think it was for you to know. Don't tell me I know every little detail of your past, cause I find it hard to believe." She wiped the corners of her mouth with the napkin, leaning back in her chair.

"Little? You were together for almost 3 years and she was the only woman you dated. Don't make me look like a fool, cause I am not in the mood." He snorted and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back in his own chair to put even more distance between them.

"Fine, she was important. She probably was my real first love and we had plans for our lives, that involved each other. We moved to NY together and we were happy, for a long time." She trailed off, looking down at the inked mark on her wrist. They had been so happy.

"What happened, then? Did she cheat? She looks like one of those girls, who get distracted." He chuckled humorlessly. He wasn't a jerk, but the way she was talking about this girl was unnerving him. Was it jealousy? Probably yes. Rachel had chosen him and now she didn't look so sure anymore.

"She did not get distracted, don't ever assume things about her. You don't know her." Rachel snapped, earning few curious glares from the other patrons. "She loved me like I was the only one for her." She whispered, mostly to herself, but Jesse had heard her.

"If you were her one and only, why did you two break up?" He didn't know her and already disliked her for the way Rachel talked about her. He could tell there was something deeper going on. Something he never created with Rachel, despite his many attempts.

"It doesn't concern you. We are no longer together and that's all you need to know. I am with you, aren't I?" She waved the waiter over, asking for their check.

"For how long?" He looked at her, catching her off guard.

"Jesse, why are you being like this? If it's about the other night, I can assure you nothing happened. It was just about two friends comforting each other, nothing more." She reached across the tablecloth, gripping his hand with hers. "I am with you and I am happy. You make me happy." She smiled gently, trying to dissipate his doubts but with no success.

"I love you." He told her, like many times before, but he just received a nod and a smile back. Nothing else. He barely heard those words back, anyway. Not the first time he said them, for their 6 months' anniversary; nor during their intimate moments, when they were supposed to be lost in each other. His heart had always been on his sleeve, open for her to hold and keep it, but she still hid hers behind a high glass wall and, maybe, he understood why.

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 _Days had gone by since the events that occurred in Quinn's room._

 _Before she had even the time to get lost in the feeling of Rachel's lips upon hers or having the chance of holding her, the brunette had fled the room to find refuge in the Fabray's guest room. Quinn hadn't been able to clear the air between them, not even the morning after. Rachel had left their house in the early morning, to meet her Dads and Kurt who was going to pick her up for school. A cold tension had fell between them, keeping the blonde at a safe distance and cutting short any attempt of explaining herself. Quinn had tried, several times, but her luck and patience were both running short. If Rachel didn't want to hear it, maybe she should have just given up and moved on._

 _For the two of them…_

 _Or that is what she thought, until Thanksgiving came and her mother had the brilliant idea to invite their neighbors to spend it all together._

 _"_ _This is going to be a terrible, terrible idea." Quinn buried her head into her hands, sitting on the couch with Dave, who had gladly joined the dinner to be supportive of his best friend. "What should I tell her? How should I behave around her?"_

 _"_ _Quinn, you need to calm down. I think she is not just ignoring you per se, she probably doesn't know what to tell you or maybe it's because she doesn't know how to deal with the fact she likes a girl? She is cool about it or Kurt being gay, but it doesn't mean this is easy to deal with when it comes to yourself. You had more time to understand who you are, she just found out." Dave rubbed her back slowly, trying to soothe her._

 _"_ _I know that, but why can't she talk to me about it? I am her friend." The blonde looked up at him. "I can help figuring out, if she gave me a chance."_

 _"_ _Try and see this from her point of view, Quinn. How can she talk to you about the way you make her feel? She needs a friend. She needs someone else who can provide her with an external point of view, someone like me for you." He kissed the top of her head, squeezing her hand softly when the doorbell rang and few more voices filled the household. "I will be here, okay?"_

 _"_ _Thanks Dave." They both stood up to greet the last guests to the dinner. The adults were already mingling together, adding the last touches to the whole dinner, while Rachel stood in the doorway, not knowing what to do or say._

 _"_ _Happy Thanksgiving, Rachel." Dave walked to her, pulling her in a quick hug, before turning toward the silent blonde still standing by the couch. "How have you been? I heard Glee club made it to the Sectionals, right?" He tried to engage the girl in a small conversation, but the awkwardness was undeniable._

 _"_ _Yes, we actually placed 1_ _st_ _at Sectionals. Regionals is the next step." She smiled lightly, appreciating his effort. "Hello Quinn." She waved from distance, not sure how to approach the girl after their last encounter. "Thanks for having me, it was very generous of you."_

 _"_ _It was my Mom's idea, you know her." Quinn muttered softly. She wanted to be anywhere but there. Seeing Rachel in that stunning red dress was not helping at all. How could she move on from her, if it took her so little to make her heart race so wildly in her chest? "I should go and see if they need some help, in the kitchen." She walked past the other two teens, without sparing the brunette another glance._

 _"_ _Gosh, I should have faked an illness of some sort. This was a terrible idea." Rachel ran a hand through her hair, unable to stare at Dave. Even if he was not Quinn, she was pretty sure on whose side he was and it was surely not hers._

 _"_ _Can you blame her, really?" He tried to keep his frustration in check, but it was hard to. "She may look so confident and sure of herself, but she is not. She is not walking through life with no effort, just because she has a pretty face and a great brain. She made a bold move and now she has to live with the consequence of having messed up whatever you had, because she chose to follow her heart."_

 _"_ _She didn't mess this up, I did." Rachel looked at the boy, seeing his gaze soften. "She confuses me. She has been turning my world upside down, since she moved across the street with her warm eyes and big heart. She was my friend and I…I think I like her, but I don't know if I should." She whispered, wiping the corner of her eye._

 _"_ _Why do you think you shouldn't like her? I thought you'd understand this, better than anyone else, since your Dads are-"_

 _"_ _Oh gosh no. I don't think this is wrong or anything. I just…" The singer shook her head softly. "I don't understand what she sees in me, Dave. She could have anyone. Have you taken a look at her? Girls like her are not supposed to like or get interested in someone like me. I am just a loser."_

 _"_ _I owe you an apology, Rachel. It is also my fault if you believe you are not worthy of someone's attention, whether it's Quinn or anyone else." He used the sleeve of his jacket to wipe her cheek softly. "I promise I'll spend the rest of my life making up for what I did to you, but please…please, don't stop yourself from being happy because you think you don't deserve it. You deserve that and so much more, including Quinn."_

 _"_ _Thank you, Dave. Can I hug you now?" She looked up at him, with eyes full of unshed tears. When the boy nodded, she pulled him in her arms, holding onto him_

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Quinn walked slowly down the stairs that led to the stage. Her eyes adjusted to the dim lights and the ushered sounds coming from the front and center of the room, where the actors were reviewing their scripts and exchanging notes, to prepare their night performance. Her smile blossomed at the sight of Rachel, in her casual attire, moving around the stage with grace. She alternated her dialogues with song pieces, belting out the notes "acapella" as if they were a normal conversation, without batting an eye.

She found a seat on the side, fully intentioned to witness this more reserved performance but then someone from the back of the room just called it off, turning the lights on in the whole room. She leaned back in her chair, squinting her eyes at the sudden light to adjust her vision. Her head turned around to see who had interrupted her personal show, but a voice called out for her making her turn in the opposite direction.

"Quinn? What are you doing here?" Rachel walked to the edge of the stage, kneeling on the wooden floor to stare down at the blonde, who was approaching her.

"I was checking the bookstore across the street and thought of stopping by, just to say hi and see how you were doing." She hoisted herself up on the stage and sat beside the brunette, who dropped on her own backside with her legs dangling off stage. "You look terrific up here, I can only imagine what you look like with your costume and all."

"Like an actress doing her job." Rachel nudged her with her shoulder, chuckling softly.

"Berry, is she with you?" A backstage guy asked from the back of the room, making sure it was not some fan or crazy one. There were too many to count, in a city like NY.

"She is fine, thanks Henry!" She waved him back, confirming everything was fine. "You sneaked in, how did you pass the security guard outside?"

"With my charming smile and flirty eyes?" She smirked smoothly and winked at the brunette, earning a swat on her forearm and a soft blush. "What, woman?" She rubbed the sore spot, scooting back and away.

"You manipulated the guy into letting you in? You are such a big flirt." She went to swat her arm again, but Quinn grabbed her hand with hers, lacing their fingers.

"It was harmless, plus I gave him a free pass at the club for tonight. Drinks are on the house." She turned her palm up, to inspect her wrists but luckily the bruises had faded. "They look pretty fine, now." She looked up at Rachel, absentmindedly caressing the part with the pad of her thumb.

"Yes, time and your magic cream did that." Rachel chuckled, slipping the hand out of that soft grasp. If she didn't stop herself, she might end up in trouble. Just a touch and she felt her insides flutter and butterflies fill her tummy. She needed to get a grip.

"You're welcome." Quinn leaned back on her elbows, looking around and behind herself, at the scenography and part of the backstage, still hidden behind the curtains. "Can you give me a tour behind the scenes? There's no one around." She smirked at the brunette, with a knowing and mischievous smile

"I could get in trouble!" Rachel shoved her back and stood up, brushing the dirt off the back of her jeans.

"Don't tell me the big and bad Rachel Berry is worried about getting caught? Aren't you a top dog or something?" Quinn jumped to her feet, walking backwards toward the backstage.

"Quinn, don't go there…" With one step forward, Quinn took three back. "Quinn, I swear!" Rachel raised her voice, trying to make her tone more assertive but it only widened the naughty smirk. "Lucy Quinn Fabray! Come back here!" She shouted louder, when the blonde turned on her heels and disappeared behind the curtains, making her run after her to find her.

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 _Quinn had retreated to her room, as soon as Dave had driven off and the party had died down. She hadn't wrapped her mind about the whole thing with Rachel yet, nor she felt ready to hear a rejection from the brunette. She was almost prepared to hear the whole "I don't feel the same for you, but I want us to be friends" speech._

 _Almost._

 _It's not that she was used to get what she wanted or anything, she knew what rejections meant but she had rapidly fallen for the petite girl, without being unable to stop herself from doing so._

 _She was simply staring up at the ceiling in her bedroom, while a soft classical music played in the background, when a knock interrupted her stream of thoughts. She knew her parents would have barged in, despite her protests, so that left only one person standing on the other side._

 _"_ _Come in." Quinn sat up against the headboard, hands folded in her lap as the familiar brunette walked in wearing a light blue pajama with pink slippers._

 _"_ _Am I disturbing you?" Rachel stood by the door, shifting from one foot to another as she looked anywhere but towards the blonde, who couldn't help but find her adorable._

 _"_ _Not at all, is everything alright? Do you need extra blankets or towels? I can ask my mom to-"_

 _"_ _You confuse me!" The brunette blurted out. "I've…I've found myself thinking about you more and more, since the day you moved across the street. You make me feel these things, that not even Finn caused me and that is so confusing because you are you and I am me!" Rachel started pacing back and forth around the room. "I mean, look at yourself! You are the prettiest girl I've ever met and you could easily date whomever you want, plus you are so smart and well mannered. Why should you even want to be seen around with a loser like me? You'll get slushies and get called names and I don't want you to get hurt, because of me."_

 _"_ _I don't care, Rachel." Quinn slipped out of bed and took Rachel's hands in her own, drawing her closer, so that her bare toes brushed against the tip of the brunette's fluffy slippers. "I don't care about popularity nor if I get slushies every day till the end of the school year. Nothing matters if I get to be by your side, being more than just a friend to you." She lifted the girl's chin with her forefinger, staring down into her eyes. "I like you, Rachel Berry and I am just asking for a chance to show you how incredible you really are."_

 _"_ _I don't deserve you, Quinn. I didn't deserve someone like Finn, how can I be worthy of someone like you? You should date girls like Santana or-" Soft lips pressed against her mouth, effectively shushing her. Her walls crashed down, making her melt into Quinn's protective and safe arms. Her hands gripped each side of her night shirt, heavily leaning on her as their mouths got acquainted with one another._

 _"_ _I want you, Rachel. No one else." Quinn whispered in her closed mouth, still brushing her full lips against hers as their bodies pressed together in a very intimate embrace. "Let me take you out for a date?" The blonde's lips trailed along her jawline, nudging her head to the side so she could drop kisses along her exposed neck whilst her hands trailed along her back, gripping the back of her PJs._

 _"_ _Okay." Rachel could only whimper, letting the other girl's mouth shower her neck with soft and loving kisses. Her legs almost gave out under the ministration, but Quinn was strong enough to keep her up as they moved back towards her bed. "Quinn, I am not…" Rachel hesitated once her back hit the mattress and the blonde crawled beside her, pecking her cheek softly._

 _"_ _I am not expecting anything, Rachel. I am not that easy." Quinn chuckled and pulled the comforter over their frames, resting on her side to stare down at the flustered brunette._

 _"_ _I wasn't…oh, please forgive me if I offended you. I just…" Rachel wanted to roll out of bed and run into the guest room. They hadn't even gone on their first date and she was already messing it up._

 _"_ _Rach, calm down. You didn't offend me, okay?" The blonde cupped her face with her palm and brushed her skin with the pad of her thumb. "I can take a joke." She smiled and leaned down to drop a soft kiss against her exposed forehead. "If you don't feel comfortable, I won't keep you here but I'd really like if you spent the night with me, sleeping and maybe cuddling?"_

 _"_ _I like the sound of that." The singer threw the slippers to the floor and lifted herself up, to drop her head against the pillows and watched the blonde do the same. "Your bed is very comfortable." She rolled on her side and nuzzled the soft pillow under her cheek._

 _"_ _You are so cute." Quinn rolled herself closer, tentatively draping an arm behind the brunette, brushing her palm between her shoulders, as she settled on her side beside the brunette._

 _"_ _Stop making me blush." Rachel hid her face between their pillows, making the other girl chuckle and nuzzle her hair with her nose. That simple gesture made them both sigh contentedly. The brunette shifted closer and curled against Quinn's front, resting her forehead against her chest, as the blonde's arms closed around her in a protective way._

 _"_ _Goodnight star." Quinn reached over to shut the lights off and settled back against the brunette, who had already fallen asleep, with a relaxed smile on her face._

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"You are incorrigible, Quinn. You made me run up and down staircases, to chase you and make sure you didn't get in trouble." Rachel leaned against her vanity, in her changing room, breathing heavily as they both recovered from the impromptu run.

"Oh, I know you loved it. We also found new places to explore, that you were not aware of." She dropped on the couch and wiped the sweat off her forehead with the sleeve of her jacket.

"Like a dirty janitor's closet and a storage room that saw better days? No thanks, I prefer my pristine changing room where all the lights work properly and I am not afraid of some psycho to come out and murder me." Rachel sat beside her, handing her a bottle of water.

"Are you still scared of the dark closeted spaces? I thought you got over it!" Quinn chuckled, lowering her head in time not to get slapped. "Ha ha, you missed me!"

"You jerk. It's your fault! You insisted on watching those stupid horror movies and this is what happens." Rachel launched herself at the blonde, who was laughing out loud at her confession. "Stop laughing, immediately!" She tried and pinch the girl's sides, but her crossed arms prevented her from doing so. "Stop it!" Straddling her, she managed to pin her wrists each side of her head and keep her in place, even if she kept on giggling to herself.

"You should've seen your face, it was priceless." Quinn tried to recompose herself, still smirking up at the flustered brunette. "I didn't force you to watch those movies with me. You stayed on purpose, because you scored free cuddling from me and you loved that. Don't try and deny it."

"Oh please, it was your smooth attempt to make moves on me. You wanted me all cuddled up against you, so we could make out in the darkness and screw the movie, right? We almost got caught a couple of times." She rolled her eyes, keeping the girl in place even if she tried to get free.

"That's because you always were so loud." She smirked even wider at the shock on Rachel's face. She knew she had hit a sore spot.

"I was not loud!" Rachel almost yelled in her face, definitely proving her point. "You, insufferable woman. Take it back!" She pinned her down with her hands, ready to use her last weapon for getting her to surrender.

"It's the truth. Not my fault if your voice was employed in more wonderful ways than just one…" Quinn shrugged nonchalantly and took advantage of a loosened grip to set herself free and sit up. "Not that I am complaining, of course." Quinn's hands locked behind Rachel's back, holding her in place as their faces grew incredibly closer.

"It sounded quite the opposite, actually." Rachel crossed her arms over her chest and looked away from her deep hazel eyes, too tantalizing and tempting. She was mad and offended, she couldn't even look at Quinn in that moment.

"I don't regret a single moment we spent together, star." Quinn's lips brushed against the shell of her ear, whispering softly to her. "and I'd definitely never regret us making love." She kissed the skin behind her lobe, lingering a little longer to feel the other girl melt in her arms.

"We shouldn't be doing this, Quinn." Rachel's forehead dropped against her temple. Her hands gripped her strong shoulders, bunching her jacket into her fists not to rip it off her and explore every inch of her body, like she used to. She couldn't let her mind go there and wonder if Quinn would still make love to her, the way her younger self did. Would her touch be different? Would it be more secure? Would it be more intense and primal?

"I know, maybe I should…" She leaned her head back, nodding toward the locked door. Despite their attempts to keep it light and friendly, they always ended up there. It felt like they were running in circles, around a fire that was ready to explode and burn them down. Maybe they were just not meant to be friends. Maybe she had been right all along, when she had chosen to cut any tie between them. It was clearly improbable for them to be friends and only friends, given their past.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Rachel's hands trailed up the sides of her neck, tilting her chin upwards toward her. Her thumbs brushed over her full lips, almost afraid to touch them even if she knew them well. Even if she craved them.

"Rachel…" Quinn's lips kissed her fingertips as she whispered her name. Her tongue brushed along her pads, tracing their contour and imagining it was another pair of lips meeting it.

"Don't say anything, I know…" Leaning down, Rachel closed any remaining distance between them and replaced her fingers with her own mouth, sighing loudly as she gave into the familiar touch that had left her thirsty and hungry for long years and that, finally, was going to placate her needs.

 **please review, any thought or comment is very welcome**


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

 _Christmas break was around the corner and both girls couldn't be happier to being off school, looking forward to spending some quality time together without working around tight schedules and hiding their romance on school grounds. Even if their families were aware of what was happening between them – hence the new "open door" policy they both put in place – Rachel was not ready to come out to everyone else and Quinn was not going to pressure into it. Their first date had been followed by a second and third one until they had lost count. Whether it was a romantic dinner or a movie night in the Berry's basement or a trip to the music store, they didn't care as long as they had the chance to spend some quality time together and get to know each other better._

" _Are you sure your parents aren't due home for the next two hours?" Quinn followed Rachel's up to her room. Classes had been dismissed earlier and Glee cancelled, so they could enjoy the quietness of the brunette's house, without having to adhere to that "open door" rule, since there was no parental supervision._

" _I am quite sure, Quinn. Don't tell me you are scared of my fathers, now?" Rachel pulled her girlfriend with her and closed the door behind herself, casually leaning against it and beckoning the blonde closer._

" _Me? I am fearless like a Lion!" She pressed herself into the brunette's front, blowing a raspberry into the girl's neck making her giggle and squeal in her arms, whilst trying to get away from her._

" _Stop it!" The brunette laughed hard, trying to push the blonde back but she found herself pressed into the door, feeling the girl's mouth turning those playful touches into more sensual ones. "Mm Quinn…"_

" _You sure you want me to stop?" She breathed down on the girl's skin, feeling the hairs at the back of her neck stand as her hands roamed along her sides, playing with the hem of her argyle sweater._

" _No, not really." Rachel's hands blindly found the girl's cheeks, pulling her away from her neck enough to crash their lips together, whimpering as those fingers pressed into her back under the sweater. "I don't know how I can resist you when I see you walking down the hallway. You are so gorgeous and tempting." She whispered against the blonde's lips, teasingly nipping at her bottom lip._

" _Tell me about it, your skirts should be illegal." Quinn closed her eyes, bracing herself against the door to hold herself up as the petite singer's lips trailed along her jawbone, knowing her weak spots too damn well. "Baby, we need to lie down…"_

" _Did I ever tell you how much I like when you call me like that?" Rachel's forehead dropped against the blonde's chin, tenderly bumping into it as the taller girl closed her arms around her, inhaling the scent of her shampoo._

" _I'll keep that in mind, star." The blonde tugged them off the door and kicked her shoes to the side, tugging the brunette with her, as she lied down on her back in the middle of the bed. "Remind me to steal your pillows, they are too comfy."_

" _Thief. You are not allowed in my room without me, anymore." Rachel's arms circled the back of Quinn's head, stroking her hair back as she settled on top of the blonde, knees each side of her hips._

" _And who is going to stop me? You?" Quinn's hands trailed along her sides, slipping under the hem of her sweater to grip her waist before rolling them over, settling on top of the brunette. "With which army?" She lowered her head to kiss her girlfriend, but she only met the brunette's cheek._

" _Stop being rude to your girlfriend!" Rachel crossed her arms over her chest, refusing to return any of the blonde's affections, even if she was paying extreme attention to the skin below her ear, that usually made her melt on the spot._

" _Please forgive me, baby." Quinn purred into her ear, breathing every word with a poignant and long pause that made Rachel close her eyes, against her own will. "I am so, so sorry." She kept on brushing her lips against the singer's shell, making her feel every vibe that her voice caused._

" _God you really know how to play my chords, huh?" The brunette's resolve trembled under the blonde's tender, yet seductive ministrations. Her arms relaxed and circled the girl's back, pulling her closer as their noses brushed slowly and their foreheads dropped together, closing any distance between their faces._

" _I wouldn't be a good musician, if I didn't know how to handle my precious instrument." Quinn smiled triumphantly and tilted her head to the side, lowering her lips over Rachel's for a feather like kiss. "Sorry if I teased you, star." She whispered against Rachel's mouth, who could only nod and disclose her lips, letting the blonde claim her mouth for a deeper kiss, that made her toes curl and hands clench in tight fists, around the fabric of the blonde's sweater._

 _Every word died in their throats, since their mouths found themselves engaged in more enjoying and pleasurable activities. Quinn's elbows rested each side of the brunette's head, hoisting herself up to avoid crushing the girl below and, mostly, not to give into the alluring temptation of moving things further. They were at a too early stage of their relationship to even go there, even if the thought had crossed her mind, multiple times but she was not Finn nor any other guy, whose brain resided in her pants or skirt. For now, she was simply content with their heated make-out sessions, mostly followed by cold showers, because Rachel was worth the wait._

 _She was worth it when she gripped her back with her nimble and smaller fingers, digging her nails into her back – probably leaving some marks behind – as she arched into her, when her mouth latched on that particular spot below her left ear. She was worth it as she moaned into her ear. No, they were not full moans. They were more like light whimpers, that were hardly coming out despite the girl's vocal chords, almost as if she was afraid to share how much she liked what Quinn was doing to her._

 _She was worth it as their mouths fought for dominance, chasing each other's tongues and lacing their hands against the mattress, locking and unlocking their fingers depending on the intensity of their kiss._

 _She was worth it when she was rolled on her back and Rachel straddled her, with her free hand holding the back of her head to keep their mouths locked even in a series of tender pecks, whilst they took a break to recover and bring some oxygen in their lungs._

 _She was worth it when they simply laid there, listening to each other's breaths, with Rachel's head tucked under her chin and her hands gripping her shoulders, while her own arms wrapped around her back holding her safely, against her front._

 _She was damn worth it._

 **RQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQ**

"What time does your show start?" Quinn's arm tightened around the back of her head, adjusting it against her shoulder, before resting her cheek against its top, over her hair.

"8 PM, so in less than 2 hours and half." Rachel's legs wrapped around the blonde's one, brushing their bare feet together in a knowing and intimate caress. She still remembered the many nights she slid her frozen toes under Quinn's, making the blonde almost jump from beneath the covers just to get away from her. But, in the end, she always kept her warm.

"Do you think I can come back later? I want to see you perform." She looked down at the petite woman, who smiled softly and leaned up to kiss her gently. "Is that a yes?" She chuckled into her lips, stealing another kiss. She was going to take advantage of that moment, to take as much as possible before reality came crashing back down on them.

"I guess I can pull some strings." Rachel lifted herself enough to roll fully on top of the blonde, who held the borrowed blanket in place and adjusted it over their frames. "Don't you have a club to open, though?" Her hands slipped under the blonde's head, pillowing it, so she could brush her thumbs alongside her cheeks and temples.

"That's what Dave is for." She chuckled softly. Her own hand moved under the hem of Rachel's shirt, tracing her lower spine and sides. "Do you have anything planned for the after-show?" She leaned up to nuzzle their noses together, sighing softly when Rachel's lips connected with hers, in another soft kiss.

"I usually go home afterwards, why?" Scooting down, she rested her head under her chin and just closed her eyes, letting the calming sound of her heartbeat lull her. She could fall asleep so easily, like the previous night, when Quinn had held her and calmed her down.

"We could grab something to eat and maybe talk? I don't want to spoil the mood, but I think we need to clear things out." Quinn tightened her grip around the other woman, preventing her from abruptly leave her embrace without trying to stop her, at least. "Or maybe we can just ignore everything and live this as things come. Day by day."

"No, you're right." Rachel nuzzled her top chest slowly, burrowing herself closer. "We need to talk." She leaned back on her hands, looking down at their tangled bodies and mentally patting herself on her back, for not having indulged in more than kisses. The temptation was strong and they both had to refrain themselves, but it would have just left a more bittersweet taste in their mouth and a bigger regret to deal with.

"What are you thinking about?" Quinn ran a hand through her messy hair, trying to pat it down without success. She needed a mirror and a change of clothes, before the show started. She couldn't really show up in a band t-shirt and ripped jeans.

"That we made the right call, when we chose not to take things further." Rachel sat up on her heels and then stood up, fixing her misplaced shirt and buttoning her jeans up. If she closed her eyes, she could still recall Quinn's fingers slipping undoing it, to move under the waistband of her pants and trace the hem of her underwear. She could only imagine them traveling further and touch her where she needed it the most. She could because she didn't let it happen, so she was just left with the distant memory of it and a pair of undies to trash.

"Guess you're right." Quinn stood up as well, stretching slowly. "But I seriously need a shower and a new pair of panties. You ruined these ones." She pecked the brunette's cheek, earning a swat on her stomach for having made her blush.

"You are worse than a horny teen." Rachel scoffed lightly, but she couldn't really blame her for it. She was in the same condition, despite her best attempts to hide it. Her arms circled the girl's neck, pulling her closer and into her personal space.

"You turn me into one." Quinn leaned down to capture her lips in a hard kiss. Their mouths met halfway, disclosing to let their tongues battle for dominance while hands clutched their ruffled clothes or slipped underneath, to dig into their skins.

"If we keep this up, we'll end up starting over and this time I won't be able to stop myself." She raised herself on her bare tiptoes, moving closer and into the blonde, who kept her in place and held her securely.

"Yes, totally." She pulled back, breathing heavily into the girl's mouth. "You…you need to get ready for tonight and I need to make myself more presentable for your show."

"You look beautiful." Rachel stared up into her eyes, earning a smile from the blonde who rewarded her words with another kiss. "I am serious."

"I know you are, star." Quinn dropped one last kiss on her pouty lips and then took a step back, reaching for her shoes and discarded jacket. "But I want to look nice for your Broadway show. How much do I owe you for the tickets?" She went to grab her wallet from the inside pocket of her jacket, but Rachel stopped her from retrieving it.

"Nonsense. You are my guest." Rachel held onto her hand, lacing their fingers together. If they couldn't keep on kissing, they still needed to find a way to keep on touching and holding her hands was enough, at least for the moment. "I will leave your ticket at the main entrance and after the show, you can meet me here."

"Sounds like a good plan, but dinner is on me." Quinn slipped her shoes on, gaining a couple of more inches on the brunette who still stood barefoot, on the faux-fur carpet. "Be great out there and I'll see you later?" She pulled her in by the hand, stealing one more kiss from her moist lips.

"I'll see you later, Quinn." Rachel's hand brushed along her cheek, keeping their faces close for one more goodbye kiss before she set the blonde free to leave. "Call me if you have any trouble." She watched her walk to the door, hugging herself.

"I will. Later, star." With one last wink and charming smile, Quinn slipped out of the door.

 **RQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQ**

 _Couples fought, of course they did, and they were not immune to that. The so-called "honeymoon" phase had to end abruptly the morning after New Year, when a familiar guy showed his face on Rachel's doorstep bearing a belated Christmas gift, hoping for a romantic reconciliation with the brunette. Quinn opened the girl's main door with a smile still plastered upon her face, but that soon vanished when her eyes landed on Finn who was mutually unhappy to see her instead of Rachel._

" _Hudson, what do we owe the displeasure to?" She gritted her teeth, gripping the door a little tighter as she blocked him from getting inside, with her own frame. If he had tried anything, she would have taken care of him personally but knowing Dave was also there, provided her with a better sense of safety._

" _What are you doing here? This is Rachel's house and I want to see her." He took a step forward, trying to intimidate her with his towering height but she didn't back down._

" _And Rachel is busy, so-"_

" _Finn, what are you doing here?" Not seeing her girlfriend coming back, she had decided to investigate herself what was taking her so long and the outcome had definitely surprised her. She stood beside the blonde, discretely holding her hand behind their backs._

" _Happy New Year and belated Christmas. Here." He presented her a small package, obviously wrapped in a haste._

" _She is Jewish, you moron." Quinn didn't even care about whispering that insult, smirking at the rage on his face as his eyes snapped back onto her. "You got any problem there, buddy?"_

" _Listen, I don't know what you are doing here but I am here to talk to Rachel, alone. So get lost." He took another step forward, barking into her face as she tried to step forward, accepting his challenge._

" _No! You listen, dumbass. If you think I'll let you near my-" She was ready to rub it in his face, but Rachel's hand on her wrist stopped her from saying something more._

" _Quinn, can you give us a moment?" The brunette tugged at her hand once more, pleading her with her own eyes. "I'll be fine." She handed her the package and stepped out the door, tugging it behind herself without giving Quinn the chance to reply, let alone protest. The blonde shook her head in disappointment, throwing the gift on the table by the door and stomping her way back into the kitchen, soon catching Dave's attention with her changed mood._

" _Hey, who was that?" Dave walked up to his friend, who shrugged and poured herself another glass of orange juice, downing it in one shot. "Slow down tiger, that's not alcohol. It will just cause you stomachache."_

" _Wish it was, Dave." She sat on one of the stools around the kitchen island, playing with the raspberries in her plate, as she waited for Rachel to finish her talk with her ex. "Finn is outside, talking to Rachel. God, I hate that guy."_

" _I know, he is a jackass." He rubbed her back gently and stood beside her. "She will put him in place, don't worry. She looks small and cute, but she can take care of herself." He chuckled and pecked her temple, in reassurance._

" _As if that is going to stop him from making a pass on my girlfriend. I should go out there and tell him-" She stopped mid-sentence, seeing Rachel standing in the doorway with Finn's gift in her hands. "Is he gone? What did that idiot want?"_

" _Dave, can you excuse us? I think we need to have this chat on our own." She pushed herself off the doorway and watched the guy nod, retrieving his jacket as he exited from the back door. "Please, I am very interested in knowing the rest of your phrase."_

" _You know what I was going to say, Rachel. We should tell people we are together, not just our friends and families." Quinn stood to face the brunette, who had both eyebrows raised in surprise._

" _By people, you mean Finn? Maybe we should go over to his house and make out in front of him or even better, why don't you engage him into a pissing contest? Even if you lack the equipment, it seems you are dying to mark your territory like any guy I've been with." She threw the package on the counter and rested her hands on her hips, definitely upset._

" _And what do you suggest, then? Let him make a pass on you, because he believes you are free? I doubt he is going to respect the fact you are with me, let alone refrain from courting you knowing you are single." Quinn crossed her arms over her chest. "Why didn't you let me stay there with you? I could have helped handling him."_

" _I can handle Finn just fine, Quinn. I don't need a baby sitter. You just wanted an excuse to rile him up and maybe rub it in his face, right?" She shook her head in disappointment._

" _As If he wouldn't do the same, if our roles were reversed? Did you tell him that you are not single? Did you tell him you are seeing someone else and that he can shove his pathetic attempts up his ass?" She pointed to the package on the counter, that had certainly seen better days._

" _I don't need you to tell me what to say. I am going to deal with this, the way I see fit." Rachel walked to the fridge to get a bottle of water, taking a gulp._

" _So that means no. I can't believe you still don't want to hurt him." Quinn shook her head and grabbed the dirty plates, throwing the leftover food into the trash before placing them into the sink. "Do you even care about what this does to me or you just want to spare him the heartache? How can he still be the top priority of your list?" She threw the forks into the sink, cracking the plates and making Rachel jump in surprise._

" _That's unfair, you know that's not true." Rachel sat her bottle down and took a step towards the upset blonde, who wiped her hands on a towel and turned away from her. "Finn is in the past and I have no feelings left for him, but it doesn't mean I want to hurt him on purpose."_

" _But you can hurt me?" Quinn chuckled sadly and wiped the corner of her eyes, taking a deep breath. "Maybe when you say you're not ready to tell other people, you are not just ready for this. For us. Maybe we should just take a step back." Quinn whispered, mostly to herself._

" _No. God no, that's not what I want." Rachel circled around the island, standing in front of the blonde who was looking anywhere but at her. "Please, Quinn, look at me."_

" _Why can't you just tell him, Rachel? What are you scared of?" The rawness in Quinn's tone and eyes almost scared the brunette. She could see the blonde's fears and insecurities come up to the surface, baring her soul to her with no walls between them._

" _I don't know…I just know I am not ready to share this – us – with the other people. I just…what if it changes us? What if we give them a reason to come between us?" She took a tentative step forward, dropping her forehead against the blonde's forearm, hoping to feel the girl's arms around her. Hoping for that safe hold._

" _Don't you see they are already coming between us, Rachel?" Quinn whispered back, sadly, staring out of the window and wondering what was going to happen next._

 **RQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQ**

"So, what did you think of the show? I hope the seat arrangement was fine." Rachel leaned into the comfortable chair, holding a glass white wine in her left hand.

"The seat was more than fine, you shouldn't have gone through that much trouble for me." Quinn poured them more wine and took a sip from her own glass. The restaurant was not too far from the theater, but it was discrete and she had made sure to tip the owner an extra, to avoid unwanted guests and pictures of their dinner. She didn't want to add up any further, given their complicated situation. "I loved the show and your performance. You have anything else lined up next?"

"I want to take a break from the stage, even if I auditioned for a couple of other roles. Universal wants me for my first album and I am interested in their proposal." Rachel leaned forward, hands on the table between them. "How can I achieve my EGOT without going down that path?"

"True that. Let me know when you are headed to Hollywood, star." Quinn leaned from her own end, sliding her fingers under the brunette's, to lace them together. "I am proud of you, star. You are exactly where I hoped you'd be."

"Because you didn't give me any other choice, though." She took her hand back, crossing her arms over her chest. The weight of their unresolved issues was going to rain onto them, like tons of bricks. "I was supposed to choose for myself, without your input."

"Can you honestly tell me a part of you didn't wish for it? For New York and Broadway?" Quinn sighed softly. "If you can say you didn't, then I'll take the whole blame for having ruined the best thing in my life for a wrong assumption. But I want you to say it."

"You know I can't, Quinn." Rachel looked away from her, knowing she was partially right. If things had gone differently, a part of her – even the smallest one – would have still wondered and longed for the stage lights and New York.

"I was not Finn, Rachel. I had already dumped too much of my shit on your shoulders, when you needed to focus on NYADA and your achievements. I was a distraction and I would have brought you down with me." Quinn tentatively reached for her hand, but Rachel was having none of it. "I messed it up, Rach. I know I did and I am here to do anything you want, to mend my mistakes. Ask me anything."

"Tell me what I did wrong when we were together. There must be something or you would have believed in us to make it, despite the long distance and all." Rachel turned to look at the blonde, with unshed tears in her eyes. "I need to know what I did, to make you choose to leave me behind."

"You didn't do anything wrong, Rachel." Quinn slipped in the other chair, so she could feel closer to the brunette. "When I left New York, I was not in a good place. My parents' loss left me empty, more than I wanted to admit and I needed my sister, but I couldn't ask her to leave her PhD behind to take care of a freshman, who could get an education anywhere else."

"You had me, I could have helped you." She muttered softly, looking outside the restaurant's window.

"I wish you could have, but not even Frannie was able to and she was right there with me. I am not proud of myself and for what I ended up doing, to cope with my loss. You can ask her or Dave, if you want, and they'll let you know I fell into a wrong crowd and was someone you wouldn't have liked. I hated myself."

"I loved you, Quinn, and I would have tried to help even if you were not the girl I had fallen in love with, anymore." Rachel looked over at her, who was staring down at her feet and playing with a ring, on her thumb.

"I got drunk almost every night and even tried other things. I dropped off the face of earth for days, without a message or point of contact. You know where I slept? I broke into abandoned lofts or apartments, just to get drunk with my 'new' friends." She looked up at the brunette, to see the reaction on her face. "Do you think I could have kept in touch with you in NY? You would have wasted money and time to come find me, when I didn't want to be found. I almost dropped out of college, because I was in no condition to attend classes."

"You needed help, Quinn. I am sure your sister and Dave got that. I would have understood that too, but you didn't trust me enough to prove it to you." She sighed and waived the waitress over, to ask for the check.

"You're right, I didn't let you prove it to me." She leaned back in the chair and handed her credit card to the waitress. "What if you had ended up hating me, Rachel? What if I had hurt you or worse? I would have wasted your time and your future, just to ruin our relationship."

"I hated you, Quinn. I hated you when you stopped taking my calls and left me with empty promises of a friendship, that you never wanted to keep." Rachel grabbed her coat, slipping it on and walked towards the door, with Quinn in tow. "You left me behind with a broken heart, because you didn't think I was strong enough to be what you needed. You didn't trust me and my love, Quinn, and that hurt me nonetheless. It still hurts."

"I trusted you, Rachel." Quinn stopped her on the sidewalk, standing in front of her to block her path. "I trusted and loved you like no one else, but I didn't trust myself enough to be the person you needed me to be. I broke down in thousand pieces and I would have brought you down with me, if you had been there. I couldn't risk you and your future. It was the only certainty in my life, back then."

"It was my future, only mine." Rachel looked up at her, feeling the ache still her heart. "But I guess, in the end, your choice led me where I was supposed to be, even without you."

"I am back, now. I know it sounds convenient and you have moved on, but I am back and I did it for you." She tried to step closer to the brunette, who took a step back and raised her hand to hail a cab.

"For how long? I didn't ask you to leave and I surely didn't ask for you to come back, now. Everything you did, you did it for yourself." Every word sounded harsher, but after years of pain she couldn't really keep them to herself anymore.

"Okay, I deserved that but I thought that after what happened between us…" She trailed off, looking at the other woman who took more steps away from her.

"What? Just because we got lost in the heat of the moment, we forget about these past years and we jump into what exactly? How do I know you won't leave me, again?" She opened the cab's door and held onto it. "God knows how much I missed you and wished you to come back, but I can't trust you, Quinn. Not so soon, I need time…"

"I will wait, as long as you need it." Quinn leaned on the other side of the cab, looking down at her through the opened car window.

"Okay, we'll see about that…" With that said, she gave the driver her address and sped off into the night.

 **RQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQ**

 _Going back to school after a long break was always difficult, but doing it without Quinn by her side – albeit as her secret girlfriend – was even harder. Rachel stood by her locker, staring at the picture of the blonde sitting at her piano, practicing on her own while lost in her little world, with a heavy heart. She missed the blonde. She hated fighting with her and she just wanted to patch things up, so they could go back to being them: Rachel and Quinn, neighbors turned into lovers (even if they hadn't gotten there yet)._

" _Hey, how are you?" Tina walked up to her, rubbing her back comfortingly, as she had caught her staring longingly at a picture of Quinn._

" _Peachy, do you think I am such a bad person if I want to keep her all to myself? I am no one here, Tina, what if her association with me puts her under a bad light? What if they start slushing her? Or worse?" Rachel closed her locker, standing with her back against it as she faced her friend._

" _I understand what you're coming from, Rachel, but I don't see Quinn concerned with that, is she? Plus, I am sure no one would like to mess with Dave." The other brunette smiled softly, knowing that the blonde's ally would never let anyone near any of them. That's also why the slushy showers had stopped, so abruptly._

" _People can be mean, Tina. You have no idea what a bigot city like Lima can do to people." The petite singer sighed deeply, looking around herself only to catch Finn staring her way, with his usual dopey smile. "Why can't Finn take a hint? He broke up with me, now he wants me back?"_

" _Are you still surprised by that? He is one of those guys who want what they can't have." Tina sent a quick glance his way, not even reciprocating his small wave. "Don't tell me you are thinking of going back to him?"_

" _Are you out of your mind, Tina? I am done with Finn Hudson, he only needs to know how to take a hint." Rachel stood straight, waiting for the bell to ring._

" _Maybe you could clear things up once for all?" Tina nodded behind Finn, at a familiar blonde standing by her locker to retrieve her own books for the day._

" _I won't mark my territory like some Neanderthal, Quinn deserves better than that." Rachel tried to figure out the best way to approach the blonde, who hadn't noticed her yet._

" _Geez, Rach. You don't have to jump her bones, even if I am sure she wouldn't mind." Tina pushed her towards the other girl, who was now checking her schedule and texts, leaning against the open locker, with her bag draped over her shoulder._

" _Hey Rach, can I walk you to your class?" Finn tried to step into the brunette's way, who just sidestepped him and hurried down the hallway, ignoring the curious looks from the other students or the puppy eyes the tall guy was sending to the back of her head._

 _Quinn heard hurried footsteps approaching her and she barely had time to brace herself against the locker, as she found herself pinned there with a familiar brunette clinging to her back and nuzzling her face into her neck. "Rachel, what…"_

" _I am so sorry, Quinn. I have been such a fool and you've been so patient and caring with me. I was just so scared that people would start harassing you and I don't want that to happen. I don't want them to treat you the way I've been treated for years. I don't want to-"_

" _I don't care, Rachel. I don't care, as long as I can count on you to stand by my side, at the end of a bad day." Quinn whispered softly in her ear, feeling the brunette nod against her neck before pulling back to stare down into her chocolate orbs. "I missed you, star" She whispered gently, pressing a soft kiss against her forehead._

" _I missed you too, Quinn." Rachel pulled back, staring up into her girlfriend's eyes searching for any sign of worry or resistance, before standing on her tiptoes to press their lips together for a gentle, but meaningful kiss. Her hands cupped each side of the girl's face, brushing her thumbs along her pale cheekbones, while the blonde's arms sneaked around her waist, holding her safely in place._

" _Look Britt, it seems the Hobbit finally found the balls to dump the Giant for Goldilocks." Santana's voice broke their moment, making them switch back to where they really were and out of their little world._

" _Don't call her like that, Lopez." Quinn's said through gritted teeth, inwardly tugging the brunette as she stared down at the smirking Head Cheerleader._

" _Or what, Princess?" The Latina chuckled and tugged her own girlfriend away from the couple, locking their pinkies together._

" _I swear I am going to kick her ass, sooner or later." Quinn's eyes followed her down the hallway, until her silhouette disappeared around the corner. Her gaze softened upon falling back onto the brunette in her arms, who was beaming up at her and playing with the fabric of her dress shirt. "What?"_

" _I love when you are protective. It is hot." Rachel chuckled and leaned up to peck her lips once more, before lacing her fingers with hers, tugging her towards their first shared classroom._

" _One of the perks of being my girlfriend, I guess." Quinn smiled, kissing the back of her hand as they walked down the hallway._

 ** _A/N: to answer some reviews that have been submitted with a non-registered user account, I agree that Jesse was a great guy on the show and he was the most deserving one when it came to Rachel. Of course, Glee had to turn him into the bad guy for the sake of Finchel, tot agreed there. BUT this is a fiction - aka a work of fantasy (to be more precise, MY fantasy and MY take of Glee), so in this fic I can write about the ship that I found the most interesting - aka Faberry. Maybe Rachel wasn't lesbian or bisexual or maybe she was, when did she ever label herself? So, this is my fic and I am choosing to write about take it down the Faberry road, as explicited in the pairing description. If you don't see it realistic, you are welcome not to read it..._**

 ** _cordially,_**

 ** _the Author_**

 ** _P.S: please keep on reviewing, any constructive criticism is more than welcome_**


	7. Chapter 7

**Mature content in this chapter...**

 **CHAPTER 7**

"When were you going to tell me about this job? I had to find out from your fan page, on Twitter." She scoffed and threw the magazine on the table, which had both their pictures on the front page.

"My team asked for discretion, but guess someone spilled the beans. I don't know how fans found out." Jesse sat on the couch, with hands in his hair. "I was supposed to tell you the other night, after your show, but you headed straight to bed."

"I was tired, Jesse, and I had a long day. There were plenty of other times, though." Rachel shook her head. "How long are you staying over there?"

"The shootings start next week and if there are no delays, it should take them about 6 months." Jesse walked up to the brunette, who looked at the magazine again. Their romance was everywhere, since the news of his new project came out. It was adding more fuel to the fire.

"So, I'll cancel the trip for two back to Lima, for Christmas. It makes more sense for you to go visit your family, since they'll be in Europe."

"You could still come visit me, though. I want you to meet them, officially." He rubbed her bare arms slowly, trying to tug her closer but he couldn't. She stayed rooted in the spot.

"I met them Jesse, even if it was not an official event. But you didn't meet my fathers and it will have to wait, again." She pulled away from his arms, not wanting to be touched, at the moment. "You should go home and get packing done, along with VISA and everything else."

"I have time to do that, I want to clear this out with you, first." He didn't attempt to get closer, knowing she'd keep on pulling away from him. "I am not doing this to spite you or because I don't want to meet your family, Rach. It just happened, I can try and make it back if that's so important for you."

"It should be important for you too, Jesse. We've been together for almost 2 years and I've met your friends and family, but you could barely bother to spend time with the people I care about. You could've come to Tina's party, but the bi-weekly dinner with your co-stars was too important, right?" She snorted.

"I thought we were past that, already. How could I even know you'd run into trouble? You know clubs are not my thing and had you come to dinner with me, you'd have not even run into that guy." He regretted it as soon as he said it, but damage was done. "I am sorry, I didn't mean that-"

"That I was asking for it? Maybe I shouldn't have worn a dress or put any make-up on, right? Maybe if I had stayed by your side, like a devoted girlfriend, I wouldn't have given a guy any chance to make a pass on me because you'd have marked your territory." She was beyond furious, at this point. "I can't believe you said that." She walked to the front door and opened it. "Leave."

"Rachel, you know I didn't mean it like that. It came out wrong." He stood by the couch, not wanting to leave things like that.

"I want you to leave. You better do it on your own, before I call security on you." She held onto the door and opened it further. She watched him gather his winter jacket and head for the door, with slouched shoulders.

"I'll call you tomorrow." He walked out of the door and had barely time to turn around, to get a last glimpse of her, before the door slammed shut on his face.

 **RQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQ**

 _Valentine's Day had finally come. Rachel had always enjoyed celebrating the holiday before high school, because her parents took turns playing her date and taking her out for dinner, to celebrate. High school hadn't been the easiest. She had often ended up pining over the wrong guy, that either dropped a slushie on her head or disappointed her. Finn had not been the most attentive boyfriend and their last Valentine's Day was not memorable one._

 _"_ _Everything ok, star?" Quinn pressed a gentle kiss behind her ear, startling her out of her thoughts. They were currently sitting on her mother's couch, after a family lunch that occurred to celebrate the festivity together._

 _"_ _Huh, yes." Rachel nuzzled her nose along her girlfriend's jawline, finding her usual comfortable spot on her shoulder, with an arm wrapped around her midsection and the blonde's arms closing around her. It was more than okay._

 _"_ _I promise you that our celebrations are not over yet." The blonde whispered hotly in her ear. Her low tone sent shivers down their spine, in anticipation of what could have happened later._

 _"_ _I can't wait." Rachel lifted her head from her spot, briefly catching her lips in short but promising kiss. Their lips gently parted but hovered each other, breathing the same air as their eyes met with knowing complicity. Even if they ended up watching movies in her room, she would still be able to call this VDay as the best in her life._

 _"_ _Fabray, stop smooching with my daughter." Leroy's deep tone startled both girls, who sat straighter on the couch, making the older man laugh with pride. "I can still scare you like that?"_

 _"_ _Berry, stop making fun of my daughter." Russell's voice followed soon after, as he settled on Quinn's other side and pulled her into his arms, for a bear hug. "My little Lucy Q! How much you've grown. You have a girlfriend all to yourself!" He faked tears as the blonde girl tried to escape from his embrace, taking refuge behind her petite girlfriend._

 _"_ _MOMMM! Dad is making fun of me, again!" Quinn called out for her mother's help, who brought 6 cups of coffee in the living room, aided by Hiram._

 _"_ _Russell, Leroy, stop harassing the girls. You want to be in the dog house on Valentine's Day?" She looked at both men, who visibly shrank under her stern glare. "Now get your coffee and let the girls be, they are young and in love. You should take examples from them."_

 _"_ _Thanks Mrs. Fabray." Rachel reached for her cup, adding some soy milk before taking a long sip. "What are your plans for the evening?"_

 _"_ _Russell is taking me to a play in Columbus and we will stay overnight, it is not safe to drive back that late in the night." Judy stirred her coffee gracefully, before taking a sip on her own._

 _"_ _Sure mom, like you say." Quinn muttered under her breath, earning a nudge in the side by Rachel who had heard her sarcastic remark. "What?" She mouthed apologetically._

 _"_ _What about you and Leroy, Hiram dear?" Judy turned to the other man, who had just finished his cup._

 _"_ _Movie night. It's Barbra's themed movie night in the house!" Hiram looked over at his husband and daughter, wearing respectively a grin and a pout on their faces. "Oh honey, you have Barbra's themed nights every other week. I am sure Quinn has other plans for you."_

 _"_ _But it's Barbra's!" Rachel turned toward her girlfriend with her puppy dog eyes, hoping she'd suggest to join her fathers for the movie night, but it wasn't going to work._

 _"_ _I am sorry, star. I have been making plans for weeks, I promise you we can have a Barbra's themed night next weekend." Quinn kissed her gently, before standing up. "Speaking of plans, we gotta go baby." She held her hand out for the brunette, who took it still wearing that pout. "Thanks for lunch mom, I'll see you in the morning."_

 _"_ _Have fun Mr. and Mrs. Fabray!" Rachel followed the blonde to the door, slipping in her coat as Quinn did the same. "Later Dad and Daddy!" She sent them both blowing kisses before following her girlfriend out of the door, to her car._

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"Boss, I think we may have a situation down at the bar." Her senior bouncer walked inside her office, not even bothering to know, given the urgency of the matter.

"Another underage kid trying to get a drink? If it's some sleazy ass bugging women, just throw them outside and make sure they don't get back in." She signed some papers and slipped them into the folder to the right. How could paperwork take her so much time?

"None of it ma'am. It's about Miss Berry, she is drunk and was making a scene at the bar. We escorted her to one of the VPs rooms, the green one." As soon as he said that name, Quinn shot up from her leather chair and almost ran down the stairs, toward the room.

"Dave, I'll take it from here." Quinn walked inside, spotting the brunette lying on the leather couch with an empty glass in her hand and a distant look on her face. "How much did she have?" She walked to the brunette, removing the glass and checking her pupils.

"She had a couple of Vodkas, but she was already hammered when she came here. She muttered something about a job in London and then tried to steal the bottle from behind the counter." Dave rubbed the back of his head. He couldn't help but notice the way Quinn was staring at her. It was a look that had only gotten fonder, throughout the years.

"Can you get me a tall cup of black coffee and some breadstick? I think there's some in the kitchen." Quinn took the brunette's heels off and lifted her legs on the cushions, draping them over the arm of the couch so they were higher than her head.

"Sure, I'll be right back." He slipped out of the door, leaving the blonde in charge of taking it from there.

"Rachel…star, open your eyes." Quinn reached for the humid washcloth on the table, dabbing her sweaty forehead and pushing her bangs off, to see her fully. "How much did you drink?" She kneeled by her head, caressing her forehead and cheek with the cloth, hoping the colder feeling woke her up.

"Mmm…you are pretty." Rachel grinned drunkenly. "My ex-girlfriend was pretty like you, but she is the prettiest girl I've ever met." She tried to sit up, to reach for the blonde who just kept her down and rolled her on her side.

"You are prettier." Quinn kissed her forehead, sighing when the brunette's hand gripped the front of her t-shirt, holding onto her. Rachel had always been a clingy drunk.

"You are hot, have we met before?" The brunette's palm slid down her front, slipping under the hem of her shirt to try and pull it off her. "You should come closer, I won't bite…unless you want me to." She giggled, rolling on her back and bringing the blonde with her.

"I'm flattered, but I can't…" Quinn braced herself against the couch, hovering the brunette who was now pouting and tracing her lower abs with her fingertips.

"Do you have a girlfriend? I don't kiss and tell, it'll be our secret." She sat up and tugged the other girl closer, almost on top of her. Her thighs parted to wrap around Quinn's waist and her hands slid up her outstretched arms, massaging her tense biceps.

"I am in love with someone…" Quinn's hands cupped her face, brushing her thumbs over her flushed cheeks. "I don't want to ruin things more than I already did, even for a beautiful mistake like you."

"You sound like my Quinn. She used to love me, too." Leaning her head back, she closed her eyes to avoid seeing the room spin around them. Her stomach was starting to protest, as well.

"I never stopped loving you, Rachel." Quinn raised herself on her knees, stilling the girl's head against the back of the couch. She turned at the sound of the door opening and silently thanked Dave for the supplies he had brought.

"I don't feel very well." Rachel fought to keep her eyes open, hiccupping when her stomach grumbled and hit her with another wave of nausea.

"Take a bite from this, it will help with the stomachache." She brought a small piece of Breadstick to her lips, hoping the bite didn't prompt something else.

"Mmm." Rachel swallowed slowly. Her head leaned back against the back of the couch and her eyes shut closed. Her legs were still lightly wrapped around Quinn's hips, who was rubbing up and down her sides comfortingly.

"You should get some real rest. My place isn't too far." The blonde felt her own hands being grasped by Rachel's, who nodded lightly and kept her eyes shut closed, battling the desire to throw up.

 **RQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQ**

 _"_ _I didn't know Drive-ins were still around, what a wonderful surprise." Rachel bounced in her seat, clapping her hands as Quinn parked her car in a good enough spot, not too crowded by other cars._

 _"_ _I know you are a fan and I had to pull some strings for the movie selection, but it worked fine in the end." Quinn killed the engine, but kept the heat on. It was still February and they were outside, sitting still in a car._

 _"_ _Are there food or beverages available?" The brunette looked around them, not having spotted any food booth on their way there._

 _"_ _Not really, but I came fully prepared." The blonde reached in the backseat of the car, grabbing the small picnic basket she had filled with vegan friendly snacks and drinks. It wasn't too much, but it was something to munch on during the movie._

 _"_ _Oh, Quinn. You are the best." She pulled the blonde in a soft kiss. "This is the best Valentine's day ever." She muttered in the girl's lips, who smiled and stole another kiss from her._

 _"_ _Do you want to eat something now or during the movie break?" The blonde nodded toward the basket in her lap, tugging the blanket out of it._

 _"_ _I am not hungry, so maybe we can indulge in these goodies later?" Rachel placed the basket at her feet and curled herself on the seat, leaning over the space between the seats to snuggle up into her girlfriend, who had just draped the blanket over their laps._

 _"_ _I hope you'll like the movie." Quinn's arm curled around her shoulders, holding her close._

 _"_ _Breakfast at Tiffany's?" Rachel looked up at the smiling blonde, with an even wider grin. "This was the movie we played the night we shared our first kiss. Did you remember that?" Nuzzling herself up into Quinn's neck, she hugged her arm to her front and used it as a perfect pillow to lie against._

 _"_ _I would never forget it." Quinn kissed the top of her head, lingering a little longer to also breathe into the familiar scent of her shampoo._

 _"_ _I had breakfast at Tiffany's, once. When we go to New York, we can do it together." She sighed happily, lacing their hands together on her lap. The evening was turning to be as perfect as she had imagined it to be. All thanks to Quinn._

 **RQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQ**

When Rachel woke up, she was immediately aware of two things: her head was killing her and she was naked, besides her lace panties. Rolling around, she found herself in a familiar bedroom and house, meaning she hadn't gone home with someone she didn't know, at least. Still, it did not explain her state of underdress nor why the bed was warm on the current empty side. Had she and Quinn slept together? God, she so hoped not. She would at least want to remember that, when that happened again.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Quinn wore her UCLA t-shirt and matching sweatpants; her hair was up in a messy and wet ponytail, reminding her of the very few times she had watched her play football with her dad or boxing with Dave.

"I feel like something died in my mouth and then crawled up into my brain, to melt there." Rachel groaned, rubbing her temples with her fingers.

"That's a very poetic image, star." She pushed herself off the doorway and took a seat beside her, on the edge of the mattress. "Let me…" She replaced the brunette's fingers with hers and started massaging her temples, in anti-clockwise way.

"Your fingers are magic…" She closed her eyes, leaning into the soothing touch. She wondered if that touch could relieve the ache in other parts of her body, as well.

"I know you love them." Chuckling, Quinn kissed her forehead. She placed a couple of Advil pills in her open palm and a glass of cold water in the other. "Take these, it'll help with the headache."

"Thanks." She gulped them down in one go, washing the taste with the water that also soothed her dry throat. Good thing she was not due to the theater for a couple of days. "Quinn, did we…" She nodded towards the bedsheet she was wrapped with and the discarded clothes on the floor.

"You were drunk and you tried to seduce me, but I would have never taken advantage of you." The blonde cupped the side of her face, caressing her cheek with her thumb.

"I didn't want to imply you would, Quinn. I just…well, I would have wanted to remember that." Rachel leaned against her palm, kissing it softly.

"You could barely stay on your feet, I had to carry you to bed. You felt hot and tried to get me out of my clothes, as well, because I looked like your pretty ex who rocked your world." Quinn chuckled softly, seeing the blush on Rachel's cheeks. "You calmed down when I lied beside you, without my shirt and just cuddled into me. I honestly thought I'd wake up covered in your vomit." She made a disgusted face, at the thought.

"Did I throw up on you? Oh my god, that's fucking awful." She rolled on her stomach, burying her face under the many pillows.

"No, no. You were fine." The blonde crawled on the bed, beside the brunette, and rubbed her bare back slowly. Her fingers danced slowly along her spine, dipping dangerously low under the hem of the blanket that was rolled around her hips. "I woke up with some drool on my chest, but nothing out of ordinary. You drooled on me, even in the past."

"I did not drool, Quinn!" She used the pillow to hit the blonde, who shielded herself with her arms. "You are so rude and twisting our past."

"I am just telling the truth." Quinn defended herself from the pillow attack, the best she could, despite her disadvantage. She threw the pillows aside and rolled on top of the brunette, pinning her hands above their heads against the top of the mattress. "Stop hitting me, woman." She breathed hard, suddenly aware of the position they were lying on.

"Take that back." Rachel looked up into those deep eyes, feeling her own breath catch in her throat. There was only a thin t-shirt separating her from Quinn's skin. She could feel her hardened nipples brush against hers and her muscles stretch.

"Why? I loved waking up with you against me, drool or not." Quinn trailed her hands along her bare arms and even further down, to hold onto her sides under the blanket. "I often woke up earlier than you and just watched you sleep on me. It was so peaceful."

"Stop saying these things." Rachel looked away, nuzzling the girl's pillow that smelled like Quinn. Like the bedroom where they had made love. Everything smelled like Quinn, when she gave herself to her and sealed their love, for the first of many other times.

"I know, I am sorry." Quinn nodded, dropping her forehead on her chest. She closed her eyes not to ogle those perky breasts, that were calling out for her and her touch.

"Do…do you have clothes I can borrow?" She rubbed the back of the blonde's head, feeling the tension in her neck and shoulder.

"Yes, I'll get you some." Quinn pulled back, lifting the cover up to Rachel's chest as she slipped out of bed. She took a long breath and headed for her closet, retrieving a matching t-shirt and pants for her to wear. "I'll fix you some coffee, while you freshen up. Towels are under the sink, feel free to use any of my products."

"Thanks." Sitting up, she watched Quinn walk out of the room. As soon as she did, she dropped back on the mattress and took in a deep breath, trying to slow her racing heart down.

 **RQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQ**

 _When the first movie had come to an end, Quinn had not even noticed being too preoccupied in exploring Rachel's mouth with hers. The brunette had slipped in her seat, sitting between her outstretched legs, once they had moved the seat back enough for them to fit. Snuggled up under the thick blanket, minutes were rolling by without them noticing. She could only focus on their lips meeting and tongues chasing one another, while her hands roamed under the hem of the blanket to trace familiar curves and find unexplored places._

 _"_ _Quinn…" Rachel's labored breath hit her lips. She felt hot and warm, not only against her mouth._

 _"_ _Yes, baby?" Adjusting in the seat, she inwardly rolled her hips forward against the girl's backside, feeling another wave of pleasure course through her body._

 _"_ _I need you to touch me…" She took the girl's hand and kissed each finger slowly, never taking her eyes off the other girl who was squirming in her seat. "Here." She moved their hands under the hem of her sweater, cupping her right breast over the fabric of her bra._

 _"_ _You're sure, Rach?" She breathed in, waiting for the girl to nod before squeezing the tender skin of her breast. Her palm cupped it fully, massaging it slowly over the fabric of her lace bra while their mouths met halfway, whimpering at the same time._

 _"_ _Mmm." The brunette's hands held onto the edges of the seat and the seat handle, pushing her chest against the fingers that had now undone her bra and were rolling her right nipple around. "Oh fuck." She pulled her mouth from Quinn's. Her teeth latched on the girl's ear, nibbling on it while their hips rolled together against the leather seat._

 _"_ _I wish we were in my bed. We would have more room to move around, than a stupid car." Her first instinct was to just get rid of the sweater, but anyone could have peeked inside and enjoyed a free show._

 _"_ _I thought cars were on top of the chart of places where to have sex." Rachel chuckled at Quinn's frustration, placating her with a soft kiss. "You are cute when you are grumpy."_

 _"_ _I am not." Her palms both slid under the sweater, cupping her free breasts at the same time. Her thumbs brushed along the tips of her erect nipples, making her hips buck up at the sudden touch. "I bet this is not the only place where you want me to touch you, right?" It was her turn to nibble on the girl's earlobe. She sucked it slowly between her lips, tugging and licking the patch of skin she had lightly bitten on._

 _"_ _Would you…would you touch me down there?" Rachel panted hard. Her nails scratched the car roof and anything she could grip onto, anticipating a relief she desperately needed._

 _"_ _I'd do anything you want me to, baby." Quinn kissed the shell of her ear and dropped her hands on her lap, playing with the hem of her skirt. "Where do you want me?"_

 _"_ _Here…please, Quinn. Touch me here…" She draped her legs over the other girl's, spreading them as far as she could, hoping the blonde got the hint._

 _"_ _Oh, Rach…" She kissed her flushed cheek and rolled her skirt up her thighs, bunching it up enough for her to trace along her inner thighs, nearing the source of her heat. The temperature in the car had visibly raised and the windows were now fogged enough to provide a good sense of intimacy, despite being in a public place. "You feel so hot, baby." Her right palm slipped between her thighs, cupping her through the lace panties that felt sticky to her touch._

 _"_ _Oh yes, god." Rachel's head rolled against Quinn's shoulder, resting it there as her mouth let out few more moans. Her eyes shut closed, unable to keep them open and stare down at the other girl's hand rubbing her through the fabric of her drenched underwear. She could feel the shape of her fingertips trail along her folds and rub the underside of her nub, making herself gush more._

 _"_ _If you feel uncomfortable, just tell me to stop and I will." Quinn's nose nuzzled along her cheek, kissing it softly. Her left arm circled the girl's waist from behind, keeping her against her while her other fingers pushed the lace material to the side, to slip underneath._

 _"_ _Oh, Quinn…God, baby." She closed her thighs, trapping those fingers between her legs. She had never felt so wet before._

 _"_ _You are so wet for me, star." Quinn grunted in her ear, her own hips rolled forward to give herself some sort of relief against the girl's backside. "Open those legs for me." She whispered hotly and sighed in pleasure, when the girl complied and she had room to move. Her fore and middle fingers slid effortlessly between her virginal legs, rubbing the abundant wetness along her folds and around her hard nub. She had never thought she could have had that effect on Rachel._

 _"_ _Don't stop…please." She almost sobbed in pleasure. She had never allowed anyone else to touch her there, with their bare fingers. There had been light groping and grinding with her ex, but this was on a different level._

 _"_ _Not planning to." Quinn pulled her back into her body by her waist, using her firm backside to rub the front of her jeans against. She was not going to cum like that, but the movement helped with the ache between her own legs._

 _"_ _Do you…I can touch you." Rachel turned to look up at the blonde, who was panting against her ear._

 _"_ _Later, baby. Now let's focus on you." She leaned down to claim her lips in a hard kiss, distracting her from the movement between her parted thighs. Her fingers slipped to the edges of her hole, scooping some of her gushing wetness and rubbing it back up around her clit, that throbbed against her touch. Her fingers tugged and pulled at the firm nub, massaging it strong enough to make the brunette buck up and down._

 _"_ _Think…god I think…" Rachel locked her arm behind Quinn's head, keeping their mouths fused together while her long fingers rubbed along the length of her core, parting her folds enough to fit her whole palm, that was now slapping down on her sensitive clit. "I am gonnaaa…" She moaned out, biting down on Quinn's lower lip enough to draw blood as her hole spasmed around nothing, releasing more of her gush all over the girl's palm and the fabric of her ruined panties._

 _"_ _You are so beautiful when you come, star." Quinn licked the blood off her lip, chuckling at the familiar taste. Her fingers retreated from the girl's core, fixing her panties before cleaning the wetness on her jeans. "I can't believe you're mine."_

 _"_ _I am the lucky one, baby." Rachel kissed her softly, wrapping her arms around her front as she leaned back into her girlfriend._

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"Is it because of him?" Quinn placed her mug down, sliding her unlocked iPhone across the island to show the articled popped up on her notification center. "You didn't know, did you?"

"No, I didn't." Rachel scrolled through the article and then just closed it. She had found many missed calls and texts from Jesse, but she didn't want to hear from him. "Our communication is not the same as before, but he owed me to tell me, before the news leaked."

"Guess so, how did your manager take it?" Quinn pocketed her phone and refilled her mug, sipping it slowly. "She has some statement ready or are you supposed to play the supportive girlfriend card?"

"I can't be against it. It'd shed a bad light on our relationship." She pushed her empty mug to the side and reached for her own phone, checking the last text. It was from Jesse, again.

"If you wanna call him, you can use my room. I will be out on the balcony." She nodded to the window behind her, but the brunette held onto her hand, stopping her.

"He can wait, I don't want to deal with him." She brushed her thumb along Quinn's wrist, tracing the familiar tattoo. "What are you going to do for Thanksgiving? Traveling to California to meet Francine?"

"Not really, she is going to be here and take advantage of Black Friday to do some crazy shopping. She has a couple of months before the big day." Leaning on her elbows, she looked down at the brunette's hand, still brushing along her skin.

"Big day?" Rachel mimicked her position, looking up into her clear eyes.

"She is expecting a baby, with her husband. She will be due around January." She smiled and retrieved her phone, scrolling through the photos application to check the latest pics shared by her sister. "This is the last pic of the baby. They don't want to know the sex, so we are all placing our bets around it."

"Oh god, that's fantastic. I am so happy for you and for her, of course." Rachel checked the other pictures, including the ones with a very pregnant version of Quinn's sister and a blonde man holding her, probably her husband. "They look so happy. How do you feel about becoming an auntie?"

"In all honesty? I don't know. I'll just shower the baby with gifts and take some time to travel back and forth, so I can visit them more often. I haven't processed it, yet." Quinn smiled. "What are you doing for Thanksgiving? Are you staying in town?"

"I had planned to go to the Hamptons with Jesse, but guess he is engaged somewhere else." She shrugged. "I never liked the beach, that much."

"You can come over. We are staying here, watching the parade and celebrating it together." Quinn smiled convincingly. "I'll make a small tofurkey for you, it's not a problem."

"I don't want to impose. I'll order take out and stay in."

"Don't be silly. The whole gang will be here, plus Dave is bringing someone over. We better grill this dude together, it's funnier!" Quinn smirked and winked at her, having clearly made up her mind.


	8. Chapter 8

**a/n: sorry for making you wait...enjoy and please review! thanks**

 **CHAPTER 8**

 _"_ _What did your parents say about you spending the night here?" Quinn pulled the covers back, fluffing her pillows and climbing in, to lie down._

 _"_ _They couldn't argue that much. It's Valentine's Day for everyone and I didn't want to know their plans, as much as they didn't want to know about ours." Rachel rolled on her stomach and cuddled close to the blonde, who had lifted the thick duvet over them and turned the TV on, settling on some old rom-com._

 _"_ _if anything, your parachute should be law school. You are so good at debating and swaying things your way." Quinn's arm circled the back of her head, tucking it against her chest._

 _"_ _Are you calling me manipulative?" She raised her eyebrow in a perfect Fabray way, smirking when Quinn stumbled on her apology. "You are cute when you ramble, you know that?" Lifting herself on her hands, she slipped on top of the blonde, who threw the remote aside and circled her hips with her arms._

 _"_ _You are beautiful, you know that?" Quinn leaned up to trail her lips up her exposed neck. She dropped slow and tender kisses along the way up to the skin behind her right ear, knowing it usually affected the brunette greater than any other spot._

 _"_ _You don't play fair." Fingers tangled in her blonde locks, tugging her head closer. Her hips inwardly rolled forward, making her grind down against her toned stomach through the fabric of their t-shirts._

 _"_ _Do you want me to stop?" Her hands had slipped under the hem of her t-shirt, tracing the back of her thighs slowly and teasingly, mindful not to cup her backside. Even if they both wanted that._

 _"_ _Don't you dare." Rachel gritted through her teeth._

 _"_ _Good girl." Quinn smirked proudly, seeing the hickey forming on her girlfriend's skin. The more she looked at it, the higher her palms slid until she fully cupped Rachel's butt, surprisingly finding no underwear there. "Actually, bad girl." She pulled back enough to stare at Rachel, who was blushing and looking anywhere but her._

 _"_ _I…I thought you'd want that, you know?" Rachel buried her face into the crook of her neck, hugging her tightly. "After the car, I thought you'd expect me to…I don't want to disappoint you."_

 _"_ _Baby…" Quinn tried to pull back to stare at the brunette, but her grip was too tight. "Rach, baby…I don't want you to do anything you are not ready for. I can wait." She kissed her forehead and lowered her t-shirt to cover her ass, hands resting on her hips. "Just because I touched you there, it doesn't mean I am expecting to go further. We are going at your pace."_

 _"_ _I don't know what I want…" She sighed softly, burrowing herself into the crook of her girlfriend's neck. "You make me feel things and I want more…but I don't know what to expect from that, you know? How was it for you?"_

 _"_ _I wish I had waited for someone I really cared about. I didn't give it away to a stranger or something, but it was still with someone who didn't care about me, like I had hoped to." She tilted her head to look down at Rachel, who was now facing her. "Of course, I hope I'll be the one sharing that moment with you, baby, but the timing is on you. I'd wait years, if you really wanted to…"_

 _"_ _Can…can you take this off?" Rachel straddled her and tugged at the bottom of her Batman t-shirt. She helped Quinn sit up and took it off, throwing the shirt on the floor._

 _"_ _Better?" Quinn's hands stayed on her hips, rubbing them gently as she waited for Rachel to make her moves. She knew the brunette was experiencing a mix of feelings, that were just confusing her. It only took time to navigate through them._

 _"_ _Yes, I think so." She pondered for a few seconds and then reached for her own shirt, lifting it off herself to join the other one, on the floor. She fought the desire to cover herself. Was she as beautiful as Quinn? Not really. She felt like paling, compared to the perfection in front of her._

 _"_ _You are gorgeous. My personal Venus." Quinn's face buried on her chest, between her breasts. Her hot breath hit her slightly sweaty skin, making her shiver and arch into her touch. "May I?" She brushed her lips along the tip of her left nipple, asking for permission. Rachel could only nod and look down. Her thighs squeezed closed when the blonde's lips latched around her nipple, sucking it slowly while her free hand palmed her unattended breast, making her body quiver._

 _"_ _Oh God…" Rachel arched her back, pushing her chest into Quinn's mouth that was now hungrily sucking on her nipples, alternating between the two of them. Her hands had descended along her back, to grip her bare bottom and surge her forward, against her._

 _"_ _Fuck, Rach. I should…" She pulled back, dropping her forehead on her chest. With her eyes closed, she could smell the scent coming from Rachel, that was filling her senses and clouding her mind. "We should sleep or take a cold shower."_

 _"_ _Together?" She tilted the blonde's face back, brushing their lips together. Their kisses were slow and languid, simply savoring each other's lips as they reclined on the mattress. With their limbs tangled, they started rolling around, back and forth, to accommodate their needs for deeper kisses and more skin contact._

 _"_ _You're going to make me combust…" Quinn pulled back enough to stare down at her girlfriend, who lied spread beneath her._

 _"_ _Don't you have some self-control, Miss Fabray?" Rachel pulled her down for another kiss, hooking one of her legs around the girl's thigh and rubbing herself against the strong muscle._

 _"_ _If you keep doing that, I'll throw it outside the window and just take you." Quinn breathed hard into her mouth, gripping the sheets with all she could, not to slide her fingers between those tempting legs. Her own thighs were carrying the evidence of her own arousal, but if she gave into it, she'd end up humping Rachel like a dog in heat._

 _"_ _What do you propose, then?" Rachel cupped her flushed face with both hands, lowering her enough to steal another kiss._

 _"_ _Let's call it a night, it is almost 2 AM." She quickly checked the alarm clock, surprised to see how time had flown. "I'll make you breakfast, promise." She kissed her softly one more time, before rolling on her back, trying to get her breath under control._

 _"_ _Not even cuddling?" Rachel pouted from her side of the bed._

 _"_ _Come here, you." Quinn rolled her eyes at her antics and lifted her arm, letting the brunette snuggle up into her side, with both her legs wrapped around hers and her arm draped over her stomach._

 _"_ _You are the best girlfriend, ever." She kissed her pulse softly and rested her head comfortably against her shoulder, in a familiar position._

 _"_ _Don't ever forget it, baby." With that said, she kissed her forehead and draped her arm over her bare shoulder, under the comforter, slowly drifting to sleep._

 **RQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQ**

"Come in." Quinn was wearing a pristine Tommy Hilfiger's Oxford shirt, whose pale blue helped highlighting her hazel eyes and hugged her torso in the best places. "You are a bit early, but you can help me setting things up."

"Thanks for the invite, I brought some wine. You never have enough wine." Rachel chuckled, handing her the bottles and hanging her coat, on the rack by the door.

"That's a good way to put it." She winked and walked into the open kitchen, to store the wine along with her personal selection. "Do you want something to drink? I can mix something up." She nodded toward the bar and slipped the apron back on, to go stir the boiling sauce.

"How can I help?" Rachel leaned against the counter, watching the blonde move around with knowledge she did not possess years before. "When did you learn to cook? Judy always complained about you being lazy."

"I think cooking is all about passion and control. I like being in control and I am good at trying new things. It's always an adventure, also because you never know what happens if you change something or if someone's will like that, given you are doing it for someone else." She held the spoon out for her to take a sample. "Try this, it is purely vegan."

"Oh, okay." She leaned forward, wrapping her lips around the end of the wooden spoon. As soon as the sauce touched her tongue, she couldn't help but moan in appreciation. It was a perfect mix of mushrooms, parsley and some spice she couldn't distinguish.

"See, told you." She winked and turned the heat off. She opened the oven to check both turkeys – the real and the tofu one – and extended the timing, since they both needed to still cook. "You can set the table, while I finish with the appetizers. Moving to the kitchen island, she grabbed a long knife and started chopping some fresh vegetables.

"I could help with that…" Rachel looked around Quinn, trying to glimpse down at her hands but they moved so fast.

"I don't want you to chop a finger off. The table is a safe option." She chuckled, smirking at the way the brunette huffed and stormed into the kitchen, to do what she was asked.

"Where do I find the wine glasses?" Rachel looked around the living room. She had found the tablecloth and the plates, but the glasses were not in the same place with the other stuff.

"There's a tall cupboard by the window. The last shelf." She called out from the kitchen, finishing to chop the last vegetables for the appetizer. "Found them?"

"Yeah." Rachel huffed when she tried to reach for them, on her tiptoes. Why did she have to store them in the highest place of the damn house? "Do you have a ladder or something? I can't reach them".

"I'll help you, sorry about that." Quinn chuckled. She walked toward the brunette, who was standing with her back to her and was still trying to get her hands on the box.

"You should…what are you doing?" Rachel had to hold onto the wooden frame, when Quinn lifted her off the floor, from around her waist and her thighs.

"I am helping you. Get the damn box down, woman. You are not as light as I remembered." She grunted in protest, feeling the added weight of the box on her muscles. She walked them toward the table and let the brunette down, taking the box from her.

"Are you calling me fat, oldie?" Rachel slapped her arm, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I am not. I'd never call you fat, shortie." Quinn intercepted her hand before it reached any part of her body, knowing she was asking for it. "I am kidding, star." She kissed her palm softly.

"You are no fun, Quinn Fabray." Rachel sighed, leaning against the side of the table and looking up at the blonde, who was holding onto her hand gently.

"I believe quite the opposite, Rachel Barbra Berry." She stepped closer and tucked an errand strand behind her ear, grazing her cheek with her palm in the process. "You are beautiful as usual; did I tell you that today?"

"No, you did not." With her free hand, she grabbed onto the front of her shirt, tugging her closer so their knees touched and their faces grew closer. "We…"

"I know, we should not." Nodding, the blonde took a step back but brought the brunette with her, who didn't seem to want to let go.

"You broke my heart, Quinn." Her palms slid along the front of her shirt, resting above the shapes of her breasts. Her right hand rested over her heart, caressing the path slowly. "But for some odd reason, you are still the only one who could mend it…"

"I'll do anything to fix it, Rachel." Quinn lifted her chin with her forefinger and lowered her face, until their lips pressed softly together. Sighing into the kiss, she pulled the brunette closer and deepened the kiss, disclosing her lips to brush their tongues together, midway. "I still love you…" She whispered against Rachel's mouth, which surged forward and kissed her even harder, making her stumble back until she regained her footing.

"I know…" She gripped the collar of her shirt, pulling her into her while they kept on fusing their mouths together, completely forgetting about everything else. Rachel's hands trailed along the front of her shirt, undoing the buttons on the way down until she could simply open it and palm her strong abs.

"Rach…" Quinn's lips trailed along her jawline and down her neck. Her own hands had slipped along the curves of her ass and even further down, reaching under the hem of her dress to grab her from the back of her thighs and hoisting her off the floor, against the nearest wall. Nestling herself between her legs, they resumed kissing heavily, trying to touch and reach any available patch of skin that was not covered by clothes.

"I need to lie down…" Rachel's head tilted back against the wall, letting Quinn suck on her pulse and roll her hips against hers, pressing the front of her jeans right against the front of her underwear, that was being soaked through.

"Me too…" Her knee slipped between her thighs, rubbing deliciously between her strong thighs that trapped her waist and held her in place. "I want you so badly…" She trailed her lips back up to her ear, sucking on her lobe and breathing hotly on it, while they humped each other's thigh.

"Oh yes…" Rachel cupped her face and kissed her hard, needing to feel those luscious lips against hers. On her. "How far is your bedroom?" She mumbled between the kisses and lowered her legs back to the floor. She felt Quinn's hands bunching her dress up her waist, teasingly tracing the hem of her lace panties and playing with the waistband, under her dress.

"Too far." Dropping on her knees, she threw one of Rachel's legs over her shoulder and buried her face between her legs, inhaling sharply the familiar musky scent coming from her most intimate spot. "Fuck, I'd rather eat you for dinner, than turkey and bacon."

"I am more delicious than bacon, that's a first." Her head rolled back and her hands gripped Quinn's shoulders for support. Her legs almost gave up on her, when the blonde had shifted the fabric of her panties to the side to stare hungrily at her core.

"Well, well…" Licking her lips, Quinn winked at the brunette and went to dive in, to take a familiar 'bite' from the source of her hunger…

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 _"_ _Good morning, sleepyhead." Quinn greeted the brunette with a kiss on the forehead and one of her naturally pouty lips. She had woken up earlier and walked down to the kitchen area to make some breakfast, while her girlfriend was still passed out in her bed._

 _"_ _Good morning." Rachel held the blanket to her chest, stretching against the mattress like a cat. Her hair was tousled and her eyes still looked sleepy, but to Quinn she was an irresistible view that couldn't wait to explore, inch by inch, curve by curve._

 _"_ _I made your favorite." She set the tray across the girl's lap and settled beside her, propped against the pillow with her cup of coffee._

 _"_ _You shouldn't have, baby." Mimicking her girlfriend, she rested against a pillow and took a bite from the Vegan French toast in her plate, topped with maple syrup and strawberries. "You aren't going to eat at all? You should have your sugar fill, too." She held the fork out for the blonde, who took it just to make her happy._

 _"_ _I am a good cook." She smirked proudly and kissed Rachel's pout away, lingering enough to share the taste of syrup with her. "You look hot wrapped in my blanket, with nothing underneath." She smirked naughtily, making the brunette blush._

 _"_ _Perv." Rachel pushed her back and went back to her breakfast, eating 3/4th of the toasts and washing them with the black coffee at her right. Once she was fully satisfied and sated, she put the tray to the side and leaned over to cuddle into her girlfriend's side, who was on the verge of dozing off again._

 _"_ _Mmm." Quinn woke slightly and pulled the girl closer, circling the back of her head with her forearm. "You smell like maple syrup." She mumbled sleepily, chuckling to herself._

 _"_ _You are a dork." Rachel kissed her chin, sighing happily when the blonde curled into her and started massaging the back of her neck with her fingers. "What do you want to do today?" She settled her head against Quinn's shoulder, hand caressing her lower abs._

 _"_ _Sleep." She grunted, keeping her eyes closed to try and succumb back to sleep, but Rachel was having none of it._

 _"_ _Oh c'mon…" She head-butted her chin and rolled fully on top of the blonde, who forced her eyes open to stare up at the girl bothering her beauty sleep. "You have me naked in your bed and you want to sleep?"_

 _"_ _Some naked girl kept me up until late and slept in, while I was making her breakfast." Quinn rolled her eyes, hands resting over Rachel's waist to try and roll her back, beside her._

 _"_ _And I want to reward you…" She lowered her lips to her neck, nudging her head to the side to latch her mouth around her pulse point. "You've been the best girlfriend. Ever." She grunted against her pulse, sucking a little harder and making Quinn writhe under her._

 _"_ _Fuck." Quinn groaned. Her fingers had slipped under the hem of the blanket to grip Rachel from her bare backside, pulling her closer as she was marking her neck. "I love when you mark me…"_

 _"_ _You're mine, everyone should know that." Rachel pulled back, proud of her work of art on Quinn's ivory skin. Once done, she licked the offended patch and then moved back up to claim her girlfriend's lips with her own, into a searing kiss._

 _"_ _I am yours, only yours." She moaned between the kisses. Her fingers dug deeper into the girl's firm backside, making her roll her hips forward into her own, grinding against the blanket separating them. With one swift move, she reverted their positions and held the brunette under her, pushing the thin cotton to the side to stare down at her girlfriend's naked body, under the sunlight. "Holy fuck." She could only moan and think of something to cool her down, not to jump Rachel._

 _"_ _Enjoying the view?" She spread her thighs teasingly, knowing she was having a huge effect on the silent blonde. She took that moment to tug the girl's shirt off her and lower her boy-shorts past her knees, making things even._

 _"_ _I need a cold shower…" She gulped and gripped the sheets. If she had lowered herself on Rachel, she would have ended up humping her until she came and then proceeded to shove her fingers into her, until she screamed her name out and loud._

 _"_ _I need you…" Rachel sat up and cupped her face between her palms. Her lips dropped butterfly kisses on the other girl's firm lips, trying to work the sexual tension off her body but it was hard to. Her own senses were overloaded and she only wanted to spread herself enough to let Quinn fuck her into the oblivion, until she forgot her own name._

 _"_ _Rachel, I don't want to make you feel like you owe me anything. Let me go take a shower and I'll be fine…" She tried to pull away but Rachel was having none of it. Lying back down, she brought the blonde with her and kissed her deeply, trying to convey her feeling and her trust in that one kiss._

 _"_ _I want you to touch me, Quinn. I want you to…" She blushed at the words that didn't want to come out of her mouth. She felt bolder in her own mind, but when it came to express those feelings, she felt like an idiot. Someone who didn't deserve it, not with Quinn._

 _"_ _We'll go at your pace and whenever you want to stop, we will. Just tell me when you are not comfortable, okay?" Quinn lowered her lips back on hers, settling fully on top of the brunette who tugged the covers back over their naked frames and just lost herself into her girlfriend's mouth. Nothing felt safer than lying under Quinn, in her bed, in that moment._

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"Fucking timing. Should we pretend we are not here?" Quinn had gone back to her feet, hands each side of Rachel's head who was grinning and blushing in embarrassment.

"You invited us over, Quinn. Wouldn't that be suspicious?" Her hands trailed along her opened shirt, doing the buttons she had previously undone, so eagerly. "Maybe it's a sign…" She kissed the girl's jaw, feeling the tension slightly dissipate.

"That we got cockblocked. Metaphorically speaking, of course." Looking down at the brunette, she couldn't help but lower her lips against hers, kissing her slowly but firmly. "Maybe it's a sign that we shouldn't rush things…or maybe it's a sign that we should find a better timing and place to do that. I didn't want to just fuck you against a wall, not like this. Not for our second first time, at least."

"Do you like couches better?" Rachel joked but held the blonde in place, when she tried to pull away with a serious face. "I know what you mean, Quinn. Whether It's a wall or your bed or a car, I'd never think it is a meaningless fuck. It could never be like that for us." She raised herself on her tiptoes and kissed the blonde again, trying to placate her. When a more persistent knock happened, Rachel pecked her one more time and slipped out of her arms, heading into her bedroom to fix her clothes and not look like she was on the verge of getting laid.

"I am coming! Hold on your panties, damn it." Quinn tucked her shirt into her pants and fixed her hair quickly, before opening the main door to find Dave with two grocery bags and a familiar guy standing on the other side.

"Did you forget your manners, Fabray? I am freezing and I can't feel my arms anymore." He pushed through the door and headed straight to the kitchen, to put the groceries away and get a glass of water.

"Kurt Hummel?" Rachel chose that moment to come out of Quinn's bedroom, fully freshened and with her clothes back in place.

"Rachel Berry?" The flamboyant boy skipped the remaining distance between them and hugged her tightly, making Quinn and Dave stand on opposite sides of the room, with a knowing look on their faces.

"So, that's why it took you so long to answer the door?" Dave wore a smirk, having noticed the wrinkled clothes and the flushed cheeks. "You should have left a tie around the doorknob, Q-bear."

"Shut it, Dave. We are not in college anymore." Quinn sent him a dead glare, walking to Kurt to take the coat from him. "You were in Lima, right? I knew you looked familiar." She put the coat on the rack by the door.

"He is Finn's half-brother, Quinn." Rachel walked up to the blonde, taking her hand with both of hers, knowing that name still made her blood boil. "What brings you here in NY, besides the obvious?" She winked Dave's way, who scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Dave and I reconnected few months ago, when I came to NY for a job interview for Vogue." He walked to the silent guy, brushing the back of their hands together as he spoke. "We kept in touch and things went from there. I am moving to NY next week, for a six-months internship in their PR department. We'll see from there."

"That's awesome, we can grab a drink and catch up. We have a lot to talk about." Rachel clapped her hands excitedly. She and Kurt had always had a troubled friendship, thanks to her rocky past with Finn and their competitive attitude in Glee. But everything was in the past and they had another shot to make it work, this time around.

"Dave, give me a hand in the kitchen? We can let them catch up." Quinn walked towards the kitchen, followed by her best friend who pecked his boyfriend and then disappeared from his sight.

"So, I've read about you. You made it, huh?" Kurt helped her fixing the table. "You are a big shot on Broadway and all. Isn't it amazing?"

"It is. My dreams became true." She eyed the kitchen area quickly, silently thinking about the price they had to pay for her to get there, where she was supposed to. Part of her couldn't help but feel grateful about Quinn's choice, but another one – the biggest part – still held onto a resentment for having been left behind. "I am wrapping up a Broadway show and then I'll take a break, I want to check other options. You know?" She took a seat on the couch, crossing one leg over another.

"Yes, I get it. We all rooted for you when we saw your name on the magazines. You were one of a kind and I am sorry for having played against you, in high school. I was just envious." He admitted looking away. His hands were clasped together, in his lap, and his feet tapped against the wooden floor. He was nervous. Rachel had become everything he had hoped for, but even more.

"It's fine, Kurt. I am not holding it against you." She covered his hands with hers, squeezing his fingers. "I hope your internship goes well and you stay here, I'd love to start things over."

"I'd love to." He smiled at her and pulled her in a side hug, quickly interrupted by the two best friends coming back into the living room with some appetizers and beers. "Do you need a hand, babe?" He walked to his boyfriend and took the drinks from him, kissing his cheek when he did so.

"So, what are your intentions with him? Are you two serious?" Quinn dropped on the couch beside Rachel, who slapped her arm and rolled her eyes. "What? He is my best friend, I need to ask."

"Don't be a mama bear, Q." Dave took a seat on the armchair and pulled Kurt in his lap, with a protective arm around his waist.

"Whatever Dave, but don't break his heart. I know where to find you, Hummel." Quinn scoffed, leaning back into the couch with her arms crossed.

"So, when did you two get back together? Is it true that you and Jesse are only doing it for PR?" Kurt was confused, yet happy to see them together. As much as he disliked admitting it, Finn never made Rachel happy like Quinn could. It was a matter of fact.

"Oh no..we…" Rachel stumbled on her words, not knowing what to say. What were she and Quinn doing? She was dating someone else.

"We are just friends, that's it." Quinn cut it before Rachel could formulate a sentence. She was playing with fire, skirting around the boundaries of friendship to jump into something she never wanted, in the first place. She loved Rachel, but she wasn't there to play the 'other woman', while she kept her other and official relationship with Jesse, for the sake of a good image. It was not the way they worked. She sighed and stood back up, to walk into the kitchen and busy herself with the meal.

"I'll go check on her." Rachel stood up as well, meeting Dave's worried glare with hers.

"Did I say something wrong?" Kurt looked up at his boyfriend, who shook his head and pecked him gently, hoping they'd finally figure their shit out.

 **RQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQ**

 _They had lost count of the minutes or even the hours that had slipped away, but the warm cocoon provided by Quinn's duvet and their soft caresses had taken away any other thought or worry of the outside world. It was only the two of them. Just that. Rachel's fingers trailed along the back of her girlfriend's neck, digging her short nails into its base; her hips rose from the mattress, to meet the warm body on top of her who weighed her down and slid deliciously against her front._

 _Nipples grazed and thighs slid together, damp with the evidence of their arousal and the sweat, covering almost every inch of their naked frames. She breathed heavily, in Quinn's ear, who had her face buried into the nape of her neck, feasting on her skin like a vampire on hunt. She was quite sure she'd be sporting red marks for weeks, but she could care less, as long as the marks were from Quinn._

 _"_ _All done." Quinn licked the reddened patch on her skin one last time, then she pulled away with a smirk to admire her job. "God, you are beautiful…" She whispered, mostly to herself, and rested their foreheads together, breathing the same hot air coming from both their noses and parted mouths._

 _"_ _You make me feel like that." Rachel's left hand cupped her flushed cheek, patting it gently. She couldn't help the smirk forming on her lips, at the sight of her flushed girlfriend. Who thought she could affect her like that? "Quinn…"_

 _"_ _Yes, baby." Resting her weight on her elbows, she slipped her body between Rachel's thighs and started rolling their hips together, in a slow dance. She could feel her core throb with each movement, whenever her curls brushed against the brunette's and the heat of their cores grazed one another. They were not fully pressed together, but she could still feel some of that heat brush against her and it was driving her crazy._

 _"_ _I love you, Quinn." Rachel's foot traced along the back of her thighs, spreading herself more for the girl on top, who stopped her movement and just looked down at her, with a surprised gaze. "I don't expect you to feel the same way, but I needed you to know. I love you, very much."_

 _"_ _I love you too, star." Quinn smiled and kissed a lone tear off the girl's cheek, who slipped her arms around her neck and tugged her fully against her, with no remaining space between their naked bodies. "You stole my heart the moment I crossed your doorstep, the first night I came over for dinner with my folks." She whispered against Rachel's trembling lips, who chuckled and wiped another tear away. "I settled my eyes on you and I knew I was hooked."_

 _"_ _Oh, Quinn…" She pressed their lips urgently together. Her fingers tangled into her blonde locks and her legs locked around her waist, grinding up into her lower abs as their kisses soon escalated. Every inch of her body wanted and ached to be touched by Quinn. She needed to feel those long fingers explore her curves, slide into her most intimate spots. She needed to give herself to Quinn, like no one else before. "Please, make love to me…"_

 _"_ _Are you sure?" Quinn fought the urge to close her eyes and give into those primal urges. Her core throbbed and her clit hardened at the thought of taking Rachel and claim her, to be her first lover. She could simply slide down her body and bury herself into her warm pussy, tasting and touching her until she passed out._

 _"_ _I want you to be my first…no one else." She looked up into her darkened eyes and pulled their faces closer, sucking onto the girl's bottom lip to seal her statement. There was no going back._


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"I didn't know you smoked." Rachel hugged herself, when stepped out on the balcony to meet the blonde. She looked around herself, enjoying the great view the blonde had on Central Park.

"Bad habits die hard." She took another drag from the cigarette, blowing out the smoke through her nostrils and the last part with the corner of her lips. She was looking ahead of herself, lost in her thoughts with a distant and pensive look on her face. "What are you going to do with him, Rachel?"

"With whom?" She stepped closer to the blonde and leaned with her back to the railing, to stare at the girl's profile.

"With your boyfriend. Is it going to last? Do you plan to work things out with him?" she turned her head to stare at the brunette, who nodded in acknowledgement and sighed deeply. "I am not going to be an affair behind his back nor I will sneak out of hotel rooms, because you have paparazzi following you around and we can't be seen together. If you need time or you decide you don't want me, I'll step aside but you need to tell me that." She finished her cigarette and killed it on the ashtray.

"I never thought you'd be the affair or the other woman, but this is so confusing. I'm with him and he is across a fucking ocean, then you are here and you make me feel these things. I thought I had gotten over you, Quinn." She dropped on the couch by the bannister, with her face in her hands.

"Do you want me to let you have some space?" Quinn sat beside her, leaning against the couch and staring up at the clear sky. Despite being November, the sky was still clear and cloudless, giving them a spectacular view of the sunset over the city.

"Yes. Or maybe no. God, I don't fucking know." Rachel looked at the blonde, who looked anywhere but her. "You are sitting there, doing absolutely nothing, and all I can think of is crawling over you and begging you to take me anywhere you want, to lose myself into you and make me forget about anything else. I am not a cheater. I am not a liar. I loved my boyfriend until you came back and proved my feelings for him are nothing close to what I still feel for you. Why did you have to turn my world upside down?" She stood up, walking to the bannister to look at the horizon. She felt like underwater. Her lungs were tight and her throat was closing on her, making it harder to breathe.

"I don't want to turn you into something you are not. If you want me to back off, I will do it. But I need your guidance here, I am not the one dating someone else nor my life is on the front page of some gossip magazine, waiting to be harped on." Quinn stood up and rested her hands each side of Rachel's, kissing the back of her head. "If you need space, I'll give it to you. if you need me to be your shadow, you won't have to turn around to know I'm right there with you, every step of the way."

"Why is it so hard to stop loving you?" She turned around in Quinn's arms, fisting the front of her shirt to look up at her pained face. "You shattered my heart and I am still pining over you, wishing you had never left me."

"Do you want to stop loving me?" Quinn sighed, holding onto the metal bar a little tighter. Her knuckles were slowly turning white, because of her grip.

"It'd make things easier, but I'd end up lying to myself." Rachel dropped her forehead against her chest, burying her face into the fabric of her shirt. "I can't stop loving you, because I don't want to; there will always be a part of me holding onto that love, for the rest of my life."

"So, what do you want to do?" She rubbed her back softly, tugging her closer and into her arms. "I will go along with whatever you think you need. I owe you that much."

"I'll talk to him, I promise." Her arms slipped around her waist, burrowing herself more into her strong embrace. She needed to stop playing games and fighting with herself. All she needed and all she wanted was right there: in her arms…

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 _Quinn's lips trailed up and down her neck, brushing the marked skin with her mouth. Her lips and tongue couldn't help but focusing on the same patch, that showed the whole world Rachel was belonging to her and to no one else. Maybe it was something archaic and too territorial, but in that moment, she could only be proud of the way she was making the brunette squirm and move under her. Her hands lifted the brunette's arms up and above their heads, making her stretch smoothly under her naked frame, comfortably nestled between her thighs and pressed her down into the mattress. Looking up, she took in the sight of Rachel's head thrown back against her pillow, breathing shallowly with her eyes closed. Her knuckles were gripping her metal headboard so hard that they had turned white._

 _"Oh, god…" She muttered to herself, sitting back to enjoy the view. Her own core throbbed at that sight. Pulling the covers back, she revealed more of the girl's frame to her hungry eyes, in order to burn every small detail in her mind._

 _"Touch me." Rachel's darkened eyes met hers. Her back arched off the bed to brush her breasts against hers, trying to get some relief of any sort. She was going to combust without Quinn's touch._

 _Quinn breathed in deeply, gripping the sheets tightly. Million doubts were now filling her mind. What if she hurt her? What if she failed at giving her the pleasure she was expecting to feel? What if she didn't meet her expectations? She had sex before, but it didn't remotely meet the expectations she had set herself; so, how could she meet Rachel's?_

 _"I...what if…" She stumbled on her words, looking away. She didn't feel that brave any longer or maybe they hadn't thought that through._

 _"Quinn…" Rachel sat up, slipping her arms around her waist to keep her close and from leaving the bed. "Quinn, look at me…" She nuzzled her neck, kissing her erratic pulse and burrowing herself a little closer. They were so close that they could feel each other's heartbeats._

 _"I don't want to disappoint you, Rachel…" Quinn kissed the top of her head. She sighed loudly, dropping her arms to her sides, almost in surrender. "I am not an expert lover and maybe...maybe you need something else. Someone else."_

 _"I don't need anyone but you." Rachel cupped her face with both palms, bringing their lips together for a soft kiss. "I love you and only you. That's all I need and all I want: the girl I love, who loves me back. Do you love me?" She breathed in the girl's lips, that trembled as they mouthed the three words back._

 _"I love you." Quinn nodded into her mouth and kissed her back, still soft enough not to escalate in something more. They reclined back against her mattress, pulling the covers up with them to provide a deeper sense of intimacy, and kept on kissing slowly. Quinn's hands descended between their bodies, to cover the girl's breasts and fully cup them, while their thighs brushed together and slid against each other's intimacies._

 _"Oh…" Rachel pulled her mouth from Quinn's, to moan softly into her ear. Her own fingers slid down the girl's back, scratching her way down to her buttocks that she gripped for support, while arching up into her touch. Her thighs spread wider, letting the blonde move in between and brush her knee right into her core, that throbbed at that stimulation._

 _"I love you so much." Quinn kept whispering against her hot skin. Her lips trailed further down, kissing along the valley between her breasts and even lower, dipping the tip of her tongue in her belly button. With her palms, she caressed her way down to the girl's thighs, parting them to make more room for herself as she descended her girlfriend's body._

 _Rachel's fingers were now gripping her locks, tugging at them when a specific touch sent her hips off the bed, almost sending the blonde off her. Her breath was so heavy that no vocal class was going to really help with it. She could feel her heart in her throat and her core tingle, that even the smallest touch would have probably triggered an orgasm, at that point._

 _"You are so wet for me." Quinn stared down at her pussy, licking her lips in anticipation. Her eyes widened at the sight of her abundant excitement, covering her folds and even the upper part of her inner thighs. "So wet…" Dipping her head down, she took a languid stroke between her folds, earning a loud moan from both of them. She moaned into her girlfriend's core, appreciating the musky taste mixed with whichever body soap the brunette used; Rachel, on the other hand, moaned at the pleasure caused by Quinn's tongue sliding over her intimacy._

 _"Oh God…" Rachel threw her head back, staring at the ceiling of Quinn's room. Her eyes were unfocused, slipping open and shut without any control. Her hands curled against the bedspread, tugging it off the blonde's head, that moved between her legs to drink straight from her. Quinn's tongue swirled around her nub, pushing and pulling like a soft button that switched her senses on._

 _"Mmm…" Quinn's hands lifted her from the bed, to meet her eager mouth as she finally thrusted her tongue up into her core, stretching her. It was not as long as her fingers were, but it still provided the right amount of pleasure that made Rachel buckle up and explode around her, filling her mouth with her cum._

 _"Oh Quinn!" Rachel almost sat up, to grip her girlfriend's head but she kept on pushing her face against her spasming core. She had not lasted enough, not even remotely but she could care less. Her walls had contracted so much and her core had spasmed so hard, that she felt like crying._

 _"You taste so good, star." Quinn licked her wet lips, not caring about getting the evidence of her excitement off her chin. She crawled up the panting brunette and planted a wet kiss on her lips, sharing her taste with her. "Don't you agree?" She naughtily pushed her tongue inside Rachel's mouth, who welcomed it and pulled her closer, with the remaining strength she had in her body._

 **RQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQ**

When they walked back into the living room, Quinn was surprised to find a familiar blonde standing by the front door, introducing herself to Kurt. Frannie had gotten bigger and even more beautiful as months went by and the pregnancy got further along. The blonde host crossed the remaining distance and pulled her older sister into her arms, mindful not to put any unwanted pressure on her baby bump, that kept their bodies at some distance.

"How was the trip? How is the baby doing?" Quinn rubbed her belly, feeling the baby kick against the palm of her hand. "Have you gotten any trouble or delay? I hope you got a cab from the airport, because if Sam took you here with public transportation, I swear I'll-"

"Lucy!" Frannie cupped her sister's face and stopped her rambling. "I am fine, the baby is fine and Sam has been great since we started dating. You know that, you introduced him to me." She kissed her forehead, in a protective and soothing way.

"I am sorry, I am just worried. You shouldn't have travelled all the way here." Quinn sighed and gave in, relaxing at her touch.

"I have few more weeks on me, before I turn into a whale." Frannie chuckled and looked over at her husband, who was stuffing his face with the homemade bread-sticks and stood by Dave's side. "Typical of you, Samuel. When will you stop stuffing your mouth with anything edible you see?"

"I was hungry. They only served peanuts on that stupid plane and I am allergic to it." He shrugged, swallowing the remaining bread. "Plus, Q-bear's cooking abilities have improved and these looked too yummy to resist."

"Stop calling me that, dude." Quinn walked up to him, pulling him in a quick but warm hug. "I missed you bud."

"Missed you too roommate." He twirled her around, as soon as she pulled back, making her squeal and Frannie giggle. "You've settled good, roomie. Nice flat." He looked around, catching Rachel standing by the kitchen entrance, with the corner of his eye. "Whoa, do we know each other?"

"I don't think we've been properly introduced, yet." Rachel stepped in and took his outstretched hand. "I'm-"

"RACHEL BARBRA BERRY!" Frannie marched her way across the living room and pulled the girl into a bear hug. "Gurl, where have you been?"

"It's great to see you again, Francine." She muffled that against the fabric of her dress, still wrapped in that bear hug despite the big belly between them.

"It's been ages since the last time we saw each other. When was that?" Frannie released her and took a seat on the couch, putting her feet on the coffee table in front of her. "God, my feet are swollen."

"You need to stop staying on your feet for so long. I told you that, already." Sam kneeled by her knees and pulled one foot at a time in his lap, rubbing her soles slowly and up to her swollen calves.

"I can take care of myself, thanks." Crossing her arms over her chest, she huffed in protest when different eyes set on her, with apprehensiveness. "I know how to! Stop staring at me and go do your damn things!" She blurted out, overwhelmed by that attention.

"C'mon Kurt, help me with the drinks." Dave nudged him into the kitchen, to let the remaining foursome have some privacy.

"Frannie…" Sam shook his head and leaned down to kiss his wife's belly, who ran a soothing hand through his golden hair and relaxed slowly. "You owe me 5 bucks." Chuckling, he leaned up to kiss her pouty mouth, lingering a little longer.

"The jar is home, keep track of it and I'll find a way to repay you." She winked, kissing him again. She was still so in love with Sam. Her goofy and handsome guy comic book writer.

"I don't want to see that, ew!" Quinn took a seat across from them, making enough room for Rachel to sit on the arm of her leather chair. "How's the baby room coming along? Any specific color I should be aware of?" She rubbed her hands, glancing at her ex-roommate for any hint.

"Our lips are sealed, Quinn. You know that and Sam won't tell you a thing, or else…" She looked over at her husband, who raised his hands in surrender and nodded. "We will all be surprised when the baby comes out, so for now we are keeping the room white."

"You are no fun, why did you marry her?" She turned to the blonde guy, who had taken his seat beside the older blonde and was holding her against his chest.

"Because you set us up, plus she is the hotter and straight version of you. People at UCLA thought we were banging each other." He shrugged his shoulders, pecking his wife's lips. "Even if, you two are so different…"

"Ain't it for the best? We'd be a couple of boring clones." Quinn reached for a beer on the coffee table and took a sip, before offering it to the brunette beside her.

"You'd never be boring, Fabray and Fabray." She took the offered bottle, for a long sip before returning it into Quinn's hands. "Are you taking a break from the law firm? Or are you working remotely?"

"I am following some light cases but I will be off for a couple of months, after the baby is born. I don't want to put the baby under that kind of stress." Frannie took Sam's hand and played with the wedding band, that matched hers. "What about your career? I heard about the Tony's nominations; guess congratulations are needed." She eyed the two girls sitting across from her and took mental notes of all the small gestures and casual glances, that would not mean much to anyone, but to her? They meant everything.

"I am pretty satisfied, but I want to focus on something different. I have a deal with some music producers for a new album they want to do. So, who knows?" Rachel leaned back, casually draping her arm behind Quinn's head, on the chair.

"You are a big hit and with the award season coming up, you'll be all over the big magazines. No wonders you already are all over them, with that guy…Jesse. Is he your boyfriend, right?" Frannie raised an eyebrow in a perfect Fabray way, making Quinn tense in acknowledgement. "I barely pay attention to these media outlets, but I bet things might change soon."

"Frannie, stop it. Rachel doesn't owe you any explanation." Quinn sat up, silently challenging her sister with her own inquisitive glare.

"Rachel, why don't we go to the kitchen to help Dave and Kurt out? I have tons of questions for you." Sam offered smartly, knowing it was time for the two sisters to have a serious talk without no one else around.

"Sounds good…" Rachel looked down at Quinn, who nodded briefly. The brunette sighed and stood up, following Sam to the kitchen.

This Thanksgiving was so damn intense…

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 _There was no rush, so Quinn simply took her time and just watched Rachel slowly recover from her intense high by peppering her face and neck with soft kisses. Her hands kept on moving along her curves. From her slouched shoulders, down to the external curves of her full breasts and then even lower, to grip her hips as she adjusted herself on top of her, stretching herself to fully cover her body with her own._

 _"_ _You are so beautiful, star." Quinn couldn't stop repeating those same words. She probably sounded like a broken record, but she meant it every time she said them. She was beautiful and she was hers._

 _"_ _You need to stop making me blush, I am not able to contain it." Rachel's hand gripped her by the back of her head, tugging it upwards so she could kiss her moist lips, that still tasted of her intimacy. "I love you…"_

 _"_ _I love you too, Rach." Quinn's forehead dropped on hers. Their noses brushed slowly, in a different kind of kiss when her right hand slipped between their stomachs to replace the thigh pressed up against her intimacy. Her fingers spread enough to fully cup her core, pushing up into her nub that throbbed against her touch. "Are you still sure?"_

 _"_ _Yes. I am…" Nodding softly, she dragged her sweaty palms up her girlfriend's sides to rest on her strong shoulders, kneading the muscles slowly._

 _"_ _Alright, babe." Smiling, she lowered her mouth on Rachel's, kissing her moans away; her fingers kept on massaging her folds, rubbing and spreading the wetness along her sensitive nub that responded to her touch. She looked up into Rachel's eyes, dark as the night, and found the same answer and certainty that she had just expressed with her words. Shifting on her side, she kept her hand pressed between the girl's legs and tentatively dipped her forefinger in, by the tip, assessing the girl's reaction to the new feeling._

 _"_ _Mmm." Rachel's nails scratched along her shoulders, holding onto her when she slipped inside of her inch by inch, stretching her tight walls that closed around her, in reaction. "Stay…stay still…" Her eyes shut closed and her teeth bit down on her lip, almost to draw blood. The feeling was not totally unpleasant, but it felt odd and sort of hurt, even if not so bad._

 _"_ _I am not going anywhere, baby." Quinn took the lip in her own mouth, licking it softly and soothing the offended patch with the tip of her tongue, that slowly slid into Rachel's mouth to meet hers. Their tongues found one another, chasing each other in a playful banter that still helped the brunette taking her mind off the finger sheathed inside of her._

 _"_ _I…I think you can move." Gulping, Rachel tried to look down and see what Quinn was doing to her, but the blonde fell into her line of sight and kissed her again. She knew she was trying to distract her and make her relax and, somehow, it was working. Her hands cupped her girlfriend's face, brushing her thumbs over her heated cheeks, as their mouths met halfway for a series of slow and superficial kisses. She only wanted to feel the texture of Quinn's lips along hers. Their lips met slowly, sucking and nipping before their respective tongues came out to play as well._

 _Quinn kept on kissing her, biting down onto her full bottom lip to earn one of those usual guttural moans that came out, whenever she did that. Her hand was still between her legs, just circling her clit with the pad of her thumb, that caused more wetness to pulse out of her. The blonde's finger slowly withdrew from her until only the tip of her finger stayed in, rubbing along her walls and then went back in, stretching the brunette all over again. Her arm kept on moving back and forth, pushing her single finger in and out, with a steady yet not too fast rhythm that was making Rachel moan and writhe under her._

 _"_ _So, tight." Quinn moaned between the kisses, she slowly eased another finger into her girlfriend. She felt the walls wrap her digits in their warmth, that seeped through and was slowly trailing along her palm, mixing with the wetness coating the other fingers rubbing along Rachel's folds. She would never be able to remove that image of Rachel under her, head thrown back in pleasure with her name chanted out of her lips. "You're fucking hot." Her head buried itself into the girl's hair, breathing into her perfume mixed with sweat. Her own core throbbed in time with each thrust in, that neared her towards her own edge even if she hadn't even been touched._

 _"_ _Don't stop, please…" Rachel sobbed in pleasure, right against her ear. Her thighs rubbed together, trapping her fingers in as she moved in time with her thrusts, raising her hips to meet her touch more intensely. Her fingers were wrapped around her biceps, holding onto them as she used Quinn's fingers to rub herself against, stretching even further for her._

 _"_ _I'll never stop…never." Quinn nudged her head to the side, to stare up at her flushed face. She was a spectacular view and it was only for her to see and witness. Her hair was matted and sticking to her forehead. Her eyes were shut closed, while her lips parted enough to release one moan after another. Her back was arched off the bed, to better leverage herself on her feet – planted on the bed – and buck her hips up and down, to take Quinn's thrusts with a movement of her own._

 _"_ _Quinn…" Rachel's eyes opened to search for her girlfriend, who was right there like she had promised. Her hazel eyes shone with love and happiness. Her lips were shaped in a sincere smile, that could only encourage her to let herself go and trust Quinn was going to be there, to catch her._

 _"_ _Let go, baby. I am going to be here…" She surged forward, kissing her harder. Her teeth clenched around her pouty bottom lip, sucking it between her lips while her thumb pressed down into the underside of her clit, pushing the girl off the edge for the second time._

 _"_ _Quinn...Quinn...Quinn..." She kept chanting against Quinn's mouth, who was pumping her fingers steadily inside of her, riding the orgasm out with her and her touch. Her fingers got lost in her golden locks, tugging her closer so she could breathe out in her mouth, slowing down their heated kisses while her body relaxed and came down from its high_.

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"Why are you putting her under third degree? I thought you liked Rachel." Quinn shut her bedroom door closed, leaning against it, while her sister took a seat on her bed.

"I love that girl, Quinn, but you are my sister and I am going to question her intentions, if she is seeing you behind her boyfriend's back." She looked up at her, fully concerned. "Are you fine with playing the other woman, Quinn? You are going to sneak in and out of hotel rooms or back doors, so she can have her pics taken with her boyfriend and reassure the fans? I don't strike you as that kind of woman, but maybe NY changed you that much or maybe it's her."

"No one changed me, Frannie. I made it clear with her, before you stepped in to play the big sister with a hero complex. She will talk to him and she'll end it." Quinn ran a hand through her hair, with a deep sigh.

"Did she give you a date? Actually, did she give herself a date? I went through this, Quinn and I know how these things go. They will promise you things and then you'll compromise, because you love them more than you respect yourself. You just want to live that love and who cares if you'll have to hide? What about her public life, then? Do you think she will come out and just be with you, in the open and under the sun? If this guy was not PR, maybe the next one will be and then she'll have to stick with him, only because it sells better than having a woman by her side." Frannie knew she was being hard, maybe too hard but she'd rather make her sister angry than see her hurt, again. "God knows how much I love Rachel and the idea of you two getting back together, but there are different circumstances now, Quinn. I want you to take them into consideration, before jumping head first into it."

"I am not a child, Frannie. Do you think I am not aware she has so much to lose, by dating me? I am not a big shot attorney in Hollywood, but I still know how these things work. She has a publicist to manage every fucking detail of her life." Quinn dropped beside her sister, who wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder. "She had to release a press statement because we were hugging in a dark alley…a shitty and dark alley." She dropped her face into her hands, sighing in frustration.

"I just want you to be aware of what you might run into, before you do anything. I know you love her and you'd do anything for her, but think about your life too. You deserve to be loved and respected, as much as her." Frannie kissed her temple, rocking her gently. "Maybe it's all my fault…" She whispered sadly.

"Your fault?" Quinn pulled back to stare up at her sister, whose eyes had now filled with tears. "Frannie…"

"I shouldn't have made you move across the Country…you were so young and you had lost so much, I shouldn't have made you give up on Rachel. I could have lost you, because of my selfishness." She buried her face into her sister's neck, sobbing openly against her shoulder. "Forgive me, Quinn…"

"Frannie…" Quinn rubbed the back of her head and tried to comfort her as much as she could. "You did the right thing, I needed my family and you made the right call. I'd never blame you for it; I should have fought harder for Rachel and that mistake is only on me." She kissed her cheek, wiping it with the cuff of her shirt. "Don't cry, it will hurt the baby…"

"I should apologize to Rachel." She calmed down, sniffing against the girl's shirt.

"She knows you had to do what you needed to. You took care of me, despite dealing with your own loss." Pulling back, she cupped her sister's face and kissed her forehead, similarly to what she had done before. "I'd never thank you enough for it. Mom and dad would be proud of you."

"They'd be proud of you too, Lucy." Frannie leaned into her sister's touch, holding onto her wrists with her own hands. "Quinn…if something ever happened to me and Sam, will you take care of her?" She looked down at her belly, rubbing it protectively.

"Her?" Quinn's eyes became moist at the revelation. Her own hands rested upon her sister's belly, feeling the baby kick back and communicate with her.

"Only Sam knows, of course. I want to be sure she will be taken care of, if something ever happens. Can you promise me that, Lucy?" Frannie kept looking down at her belly.

"Nothing is going to happen, Frannie." Quinn looked up at her sister, who raised her own head to stare back at her with an intense glare, that she had never seen before. "I promise I'll take care of her, as if she was my own." She nodded and pulled her sister into a warm hug, that she reciprocated.

 **thanks for the reviews and for liking their interactions both in the past and present times. Keep on reviewing!**


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10**

After Thanksgiving dinner, Quinn had chosen to follow Frannie's advice and take the right amount of time to distance herself and see things in perspective. She had been so involved in getting things back on track with Rachel, that she had lost sight of how things were getting there. She was not going to play the "other woman" nor to be the "dirty secret" in Rachel's closet, while she lived her romance with Jesse or whomever else, into the spotlight because the biz world wanted her to.

She had decided not to seek her at the theater, nor initiate any of their conversation and to just wait for Rachel to make her move and come at her, whenever she felt ready to do so. Her feelings were clear and she was still wearing her heart on her sleeve, waiting for the other woman to put her own feeling onto the plate and share it with her, not just with words.

"Busy evening, huh?" A brunette leaned over the counter to speak directly to her, catching Quinn's attention.

"I am sorry, you've been waiting for long? What can I get you?" The blonde quickly cleaned the counter and sat a coaster down, along with a branded napkin.

"What about your number and a screaming orgasm? Maybe at my place?" She licked her lips, eyeing the blonde from head to toe. She had read about her in the NYT article, but the photoshoot hadn't captured her beauty, at all.

"I am afraid you'll have to stick with the drink, I am not interested in that offer." Quinn chuckled and started mixing the drinks. It was not the first time someone propositioned her for sex, with the same lame line. "There you go, you better make it last because it's the only way I can give that to you." She winked and sat the drink down, wiping her hands on the towel at her side.

"Shame, who got you on that tight leash?" The brunette played with the cherry, rolling it around in her mouth in a sexy way.

"I am just not interested. I bet there are tons of girls who'd rather take my place though." Looking around, she had already eyed a couple of women taking interest in their exchange, waiting to make their move.

"No one is as hot as you are. I promise your girl won't find out." She grabbed a pen from her designer purse and scribbled something on the napkin. "I am staying at the Strand, down the street, until Friday. Call me." Leaning over, she slipped the folded napkin in the front pocket of her jeans, leaving a kiss on her cheek as she retreated and walked away.

"Who was that?" Rachel walked from around the bar, having witnessed the whole scene as she approached the blonde owner.

"Just a customer." Quinn shrugged and grabbed the half empty glass, throwing the contents into the sink to her right before running the glass under the hot water, to wash it properly.

"Do you let all of your customers touch you like that?" Rachel stood across from her, in the place vacated by the other brunette.

"She was just flirting, Rachel. It's not a big deal." Moving around, she grabbed two more glasses and started filling them with tap beer, before sliding them down the counter to her other bartender, who was serving his own customers. "It was harmless."

"Are you going to call her?" She nodded to the napkin in her pocket.

"You tell me, Rach. Should I?" Shaking her head, she dropped the apron on the bar and slipped from behind the bar, walking upstairs toward her office.

"You didn't turn her down, nor you trashed her phone." Rachel slipped inside the office behind her, locking the door behind herself.

"Oh, fucking hell, Rachel!" Quinn grabbed the napkin and destroyed it in front of her, throwing the remaining pieces her way. "There! Happy? Are you fucking happy now that you don't feel threatened by a stranger? Do you think I could ever think of going after a meaningless fuck? Do you think that low of me?" She was angry and disappointed, at the same time. How could Rachel still not trust on that? She had never dared to look at another woman when they were together, let alone now that their relationship was still so fragile.

"I don't…I am…I was just jealous of that woman." Rachel rubbed her own arms, looking down at her shoes.

"Jealous of what? She was just a flirty nobody." Sighing, Quinn dropped on her couch and held her head between her hands, breathing slowly. "I can't keep doing this, Rachel. I can't keep taking two steps ahead and three back, it is not a dance I am willing to have with you." Looking up at the brunette, she saw the confusion written all over her features. "You don't trust me, I get it, but I did all I could to try and prove my feelings to you. I have nothing else up my sleeve, I'm sorry."

"Quinn…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made a scene." Rachel took a seat on the edge of the coffee table, trying to take the girl's hands in her owns, but she just pulled back. "Quinn…"

"Maybe we rushed things and messed it up, again. You are still with Jesse, for God's sake." Quinn rubbed her temples and stood up, walking to the window to look outside. "You need to make up your mind, Rachel. I can't do anything else, right now."

"Don't say that, I told you I would break up with him…" Rachel stood up as well, taking a step forward toward her.

"When? When are you going to do it?" She looked over her shoulder, hoping to get a clear answer but Rachel adverted her eyes and she got another kind of confirmation. "Right…" Chuckling, she went to stare outside once again.

"Why are you being like this? Don't you trust me?" Rachel wrapped her arms around herself.

"I trust you have my heart in your hands, right now, but I don't know what you're going to do with it." Quinn sighed sadly and closed her eyes, leaning her forehead against the cold glass. Why were things so complicated?

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 _"Quinn?" Rachel reached across the mattress, with her eyes still closed, and ended up smacking her girlfriend into the face, albeit lightly._

 _"Ouch." Quinn took that wandering hand in her own, kissing her palm softly. "Good nap?" She smiled, scooting closer, to get the brunette in her arms, as she came back from her drowsiness._

 _"I am sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep…" Rachel rolled over on her stomach and snuggled up into her girlfriend's front, who smiled and just closed her arms around her head to hold her in place._

 _"It's okay baby, don't worry." She kissed her forehead, lingeringly. Her fingers massaged the back of her neck, where her hair started. "Are you okay?"_

 _"Never been better." Rachel looked up at her lover and leaned over to kiss her softly, reassuring her with a simple action other than with her words. "You've been amazing." She muttered against her lips, still reminiscing the intense moments shared together._

 _"Good, I'm glad you are not regretting that." Quinn smiled sincerely, tucking her hair behind her ear. "My parents won't be back until tomorrow morning, guess they are taking advantage of that alone time like we are." She chuckled softly._

 _"That's an image I'd rather not to have in my mind, right now." Rachel leaned over the blonde to grab her own phone and send a quick text to her own fathers. Once done, she slipped fully on top of her girlfriend whose arms locked around her back, massaging the skin above her backside and down to her hips._

 _"Are you hungry? We can cook something or just order in." Quinn nuzzled her cheek, kissing her skin softly. "Up to you."_

 _"Later, maybe…" She pulled back to stare down into her girlfriend's eyes, that shone with happiness and matched the beauty of her relaxed smile._

 _"What's on your mind, star?" Quinn whispered against Rachel's lips, that had lowered on hers._

 _"I want to touch you…" She sucked the girl's bottom lip slowly. Her lips held it captive, while her tongue traced every dip and played with it, earning a guttural moan from the blonde beneath her. "May I touch you, Quinn?"_

 _"Yes. God, yes…" Quinn arched into her as those lips trailed down her chin and neck, latching on her still fresh hickey. Her fingers dug into the skin of the brunette's back, holding her against her while her hips bucked up, to brush her intimacy against the girl's thigh, that had slipped between hers._

 _"Tell me if…I don't want to do something you don't like." Rachel licked the red skin of her neck. Her right arm slowly slipped between their stomachs, to cup the blonde where she needed it the most and to replace her now damp thigh._

 _"Keep going…just touch me." Quinn's head was throw back against the pillow. Her legs parted further to make more room for Rachel's fingers, that slid through her slick folds and teased her hardened nub. She could easily come with just few strokes over her clit, without even going inside._

 _"Like this?" Rachel looked up to see her girlfriend's reaction, not wanting to miss a single moment. Her fingers tentatively rubbed along the underside of her clit, pulling it back from its hood and pushing it against her folds. Probably, she was doing it right because she almost got bucked off her lover, who writhed under her and canted her hips forward, to meet her fingertips. "Guess so…" Chuckling, she lowered her lips on Quinn's, who panted in her mouth and pulled her closer by her ass, rolling their hips desperately together._

 _"Don't stop…" She whimpered through her kisses. Her legs tangled with Rachel's and her nails scratched along her spine, urging the brunette closer. She felt like combusting and only Rachel could placate her senses, with her touches and with her kisses._

 _"I love you, Quinn." Rachel's forehead dropped on hers. Their mouths brushed together, in several open kisses, that mostly allowed them to share oxygen, despite the heated situation. Her middle finger dipped lower and slid into the blonde, who moaned louder and bit down on her lip, causing it to bleed. "You're tight." She blushed at the memory of those words being spoken to her, but now she knew what Quinn meant. Her finger slipped in and out, dragging more wetness with her as she pumped steadily in. The faster she thrusted, the wetter Quinn felt._

 _"I'm close…" Quinn stretched under her. Her thighs closed around her hips, holding her in place as she ground down onto her sole finger, meeting each movement in with one of hers._

 _"Come for me, Quinn…please." Rachel nudged their noses together, giving her a soft Eskimo kiss. Her mouth was slightly open, welcoming each moan escaping from the blonde, who was chanting her name so beautifully. "Like that baby…" She whispered, as her wrist rotated and pushed harder in. it almost hurt but it was so damn worthy, that she'd rather dislocate it than stop._

 _"Rach!" Screaming out, Quinn tightened impossibly around her middle fingers, before unclenching and covering Rachel's hand with the evidence of her orgasm. Slender fingers kept on rubbing along her clit, as she rode out her orgasm against the brunette' digits._

 _"I love you, so much." Rachel dropped her head against her shoulder, resting her whole weight on her girlfriend's, who weakly pulled her into her arms, burying her nose into her sweaty hair._

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He knew things were no longer the way they used to be. They barely spoke on the phone or texted each other, besides the cold greetings and rare "how are you?", said out of pure politeness than real interest. For their fans, they were still together – stronger than ever, despite the long distance – but the truth was so far from what they were selling on magazines. Their PRs teams were aware of their situation, waiting for the right moment to release a joint statement to confirm the end of a relationship, that was supposed to be 'it'. At least, for him.

When he saw Rachel wandering around the set, his first instinct was to drop everything and just take her into his arms, forgetting about everything that had occurred between them. Water under the bridge. Moving on. Anything to just go ahead and start over; but her face and her eyes – the most revealing part of her – said all he needed to know and all he feared for.

"Did you have a good trip? I could have come pick you up from the airport…" Jesse leaned back into the comfortable chair, taking his glass with him. As soon as the daily shooting was done, they had moved to their hotel to have a private dinner and have the chance to talk, face to face.

"It was fine. Cassie booked me a business class ticket, you know how it is. They pamper you, almost too much for my liking." Rachel shrugged, loosening the silk scarf around her neck. "How is the movie coming along? It is a huge production…"

"It is. The producers are investing tons of money in it and I am glad to be part of it and we will start the promo tours in early Spring, so I'll have to be back her by then." He finished his glass, that was soon refilled by the waiter hovering not too far from them.

"Well, you are expected to be here. Guess that Broadway show will be put on hold…" She nodded, mostly to herself, fully aware he was temporarily moving to Europe until the movie promotion was over.

"Sebastian already handled that." Jesse leaned over, sliding his palms across the table to take her outstretched hands in hers. "I want to make this work, Rachel. I know distance may be an issue, but I can fly back to US and I'll find new projects in NY. This movie opened few doors for me…for us…"

"Us?" Rachel raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

"I spoke with the movie director. He wants to cast you in his new project, we'd be his movie leads." He smiled, squeezing her hands softly. "Isn't it great? It is just a rom-com, but it could still get you closer to that EGOT you've always wanted."

"I'd rather find these projects on my own, Jesse." She slipped her hands out of his grasp. "I know you mean well, but I am going to pick my next project and right now, I am going to focus on a music album. I am already in touch with a producer in NY."

"Oh, that's great. I didn't know that…" He crossed his hands over the tablecloth, sighing.

"I know. We don't talk anymore about this stuff, you couldn't know." She looked up at him, taking a deep breath in. "We don't talk anymore about anything, Jesse. This is not how it is supposed to be."

"We used to be so good together, we can still do it. We can still have that, it doesn't have to end." He leaned over, to take her hands back, but she pulled away and crossed her arms over her chest. "I love you, Rachel and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You used to want that too, before that girl came back and ruined everything."

"Keep her out of this. It is between you and me." She snapped harshly, keeping her voice down. "I know what we had, Jesse. I was there too, but it hasn't been the same for a while and it didn't start because of Quinn. We were so busy living our romantic life in the spotlight, that we forgot about living it privately. Our fans knew about each other's projects, even before we told each other."

"You make us sound Brangelina or something, we were just Broadway stars." He shook his head. "We can find time for us and I can work around my schedule here. I will also come visit your Dads, for Christmas."

"I don't want you to give up on your career for me, Jesse. It is not fair to you." She sighed and reached for her purse, behind her chair. "We shouldn't choose our professional lives over our personal ones or vice versa, but just make them compatible. I can't imagine this going anywhere, even more now that there's geographical distance between us."

"It is a sacrifice I am willing to make, if I can still be with you." He scooted in the chair, closer to her, and cupped her face into his palms. "I love you, Rachel. I am in love with you."

"Jesse, don't…" Rachel looked away and grabbed the small box from within her purse, sitting it on the table between them. "I can't keep this."

"It was my gift for our 3rd anniversary…you should keep it." He pushed it back, only to meet the girl's hand, blocking it.

"I can't. It meant something big, for us, and we cannot hold onto that promise anymore."

"You mean that _you_ _can't_?" It was his turn to snap now. "Have you ever loved me, Rachel? Was there a part of you, even a small one, who loved me at all? Or was it just out of convenience for you?" He grabbed the box and slipped it inside his jacket.

"I did, even if I was never able to say it." She sighed and tried to take his hand, but it seemed the roles had been reversed. "I thought we could make it, that I could learn how to open up myself with you and let it go. I really believed that, Jesse, and I wish I had done that."

"Why couldn't you? Did I give you any reason not to trust me? I would have never hurt you." His eyes were filled with unshed angry tears. "I didn't leave you behind, like that girl. I would have never done it to you, but I guess you can return the favor with me, huh?"

"Don't say that. It is not a sort of payback for my past. You and I are a different thing." Rachel grabbed onto his hand, squeezing it softly. "A part of me really thought I had moved on and that this was 'it' for me. That it was exactly what I needed to start over and be happy."

"Have you ever been happy, Rachel? Do you know what happiness is? Because I was happy, when we were together and I thought you were too."

"I know what happiness is, Jesse. I've been happy…really happy."

"But not with me…" With that said, he stood up and walked away without even giving her one last glance. It'd be too painful to watch her sit there, allowing him to walk away without even fighting back.

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 _She didn't know what day or time was. She had succumbed to tiredness and just lost grip on anything around them, anything but the brunette dozing off against her chest. Craning her neck, she got a glimpse of her alarm clock and was surprised to see it was not as late as she thought. It was only 8.30 PM._

 _"Mmm, Quinn…" Rachel nuzzled the skin above her heart with the tip of her nose and cupped her breast through the blanket, brushing the pad of her thumb along the tip of her still hard nipple._

 _"It's dinner time, sleepyhead." Quinn took her hand in hers and kissed her palm, barely sniffing the remaining evidence of her own release there. "What are you in the mood for?" She brushed her lips along her forehead, kissing it softly despite the hair tickling her nose._

 _"You…" Rachel stretched lazily against her. Her arms slipped around Quinn's head and her body slid up against hers, till they were back face to face with the blanket draped around their lower bodies and legs. "I want you for dinner, breakfast, lunch, dinner and-"_

 _"I got the hint." She chuckled huskily and leaned up to catch her lips in a soft kiss. "I can't provide you with all the nourishments, that a future Broadway star needs." She smirked and rolled them over, swiftly, keeping the brunette under her as she settled between her legs. "But I can supply you with an infinite dose of kisses and cuddles and something else."_

 _"I like how that sounds." Rachel smiled and pulled her down for another kiss. She couldn't help but sighing happily in the blonde's mouth, that was moving against hers deliberately slow, in time with their hips rolling together._

 _"How do you feel?" Quinn dropped her forehead on hers and stared down into her eyes. They had taken a big step together, a huge one, so she wanted to be sure there were no regrets. She had none, but she was not the virgin between the two of them._

 _"Like a virgin, touched for the very first time…" She sang softly, earning a chuckle from the girl above her. "I couldn't feel better, Quinn. It was perfect, because you made it perfect."_

 _"Anything for you, star." Quinn smiled and kissed her softly, lingering a little longer to fully prove her point. "We should order something in and we can cuddle on the couch, for the rest of the night. Sounds good?"_

 _"It sounds great. I am famished." Rachel caught her lips in one last kiss, before letting her roll off her and reach for her phone, still wrapped in her blanket. "I didn't know sex was so tiring, but it is better than 30 minutes on my elliptical."_

 _"I'd surely hope so." Quinn chuckled placing the order via the app. "All done, it should be here in 30 minutes more or less." She threw the phone aside, just in time to have Rachel crawl back in her lap and brush their lips together. "Do you want to jump in the shower or should I?" Her words were muffled by the brunette's lips, that kept on pressing against hers._

 _"Are you implying that I stink?" Rachel pouted and lowered her lips on Quinn's neck, latching on the hickey that was not going to fade for a couple of weeks, at least._

 _"God, no. You smell pretty amazing, right now." Quinn's hands slipped under the hem of the blanket to grab onto her asscheeks, pulling her closer and into her neck. How could Rachel find her weak point so quickly? It felt like her lips were made to kiss it or just mark her there._

 _"Only right now?" Rachel smirked into her neck, rolling her hips forward when the blonde's hand slipped between her thighs to teasingly rub circles around her clit. "Oh, yes…" She dropped her forehead on her shoulder and just humped her long fingers, that were now rubbing up and down her slit._

 _"Yes, indeed." With her left arm wrapped around her hips, she easily slipped two fingers inside her girlfriend who started working herself up and down, to meeting her thrusts. "I am never going to stop making love to you." Quinn breathed hotly into her ear and just slid her fingers inside her, stretching her._

 _"Please don't stop…ever." Rachel cupped her face and crashed their lips together. Her legs wrapped around her waist, trapping her girlfriend's hand between her thighs. With each roll forward, she could feel Quinn's long digits hit her spot – or so she thought it was – and her palm rub against her clit, slapping it whenever she thrusted in._

 _"I am not planning to, baby." Quinn looked up at her girlfriend, who was now straddling her legs and bounced up and down her fingers. With her flushed face, sweaty hair and bouncing breasts, Rachel was like the perfect definition of sex. She was so sexy, that her own core throbbed whenever she slid her fingers in and caressed her intimacy._

 _"I'm close…" Rachel bounced on top of her. Her hands gripped her bare shoulders for support, while the blanket pooled around her thighs, leaving her completely naked and exposed to Quinn's hungry eyes. With one last move, the petite brunette found herself on her back and a familiar blonde hair buried between her thighs, having replace her fingers with her tongue. "Oh fuck!" Both hands gripped her by the hair, pushing her into her core that was throbbing so hard, waiting to be relieved of that pleasurable ache._

 _"Cum for me…" Quinn whispered against her folds. Her tongue pulled out to slide along her core and to tug her clit back, triggering the girl's tumble off the edge._

 _"Quinn! Quinn! Quinn!" Rachel screamed out, pushing her girlfriend's tongue back into her spasming core, that was now releasing the evidence of her orgasm, all over Quinn's mouth and chin. Her hips rose from the bed, grinding up into the blonde's face who was still lapping at her folds, licking the copious gush as much as she could._

 _"Fuck, you taste amazing." Quinn sat back on her heels, licking the "cream" off her metaphorical moustaches like a sultry cat, who was done with their meal. "You are so hot…" She crawled back up into her girlfriend's arms, making sure to trail her way up with her face before stealing a wet kiss from Rachel, who was still catching her breath._

 _"Why did we order food? I just want to keep having sex with you, non-stop." Rachel lifted her leg around her hip, holding the girl in place._

 _"I need some energy to keep going or I'll pass out while we are at it." Quinn chuckled and raised herself on her elbows, each side of her girlfriend's head. "Did I turn you into a sex addict?" She smirked and lowered her lips on Rachel's, who smirked back and wrapped both legs around her hips._

 _"Girls want sex as much guys want, Quinn. Are you complaining?" Rachel trailed her hands down her muscular back, to cup her backside and roll their hips together._

 _"Fuck, no." With that said she leaned down and crashed their lips together, enjoying as much time as they could, before their dinner interrupted them._

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She had read the tabloids and caught up with the last gossip news online and on TV. Their pictures were everywhere and that small velvet box on the table weighed like a shitload of bricks dumped on her head, but it was really her heart buried underneath. Quinn knew that this kind of news were made to raise curiosity more than ever, but it still put some small doubt in the back of her mind and the fact Rachel was not even returning her calls or text was not helping at all.

She had paced around the apartment, worked out and tried to find a distraction at work, but her mind was somewhere else entirely and she could not even mix drinks or do paperwork at the club. Her mind was too focused on what she had read, to process something else. Had Rachel decided to move on from her, once for all? Was her professional reputation worthier than what they had before? Was Jesse the one for her? The safe harbour to navigate to and where to remain, for a long time?

She was asking herself all those questions, waiting to hear a famous "I told you so" by Frannie or get a worried call from Dave, who hadn't seen her for the whole day. She sat on the couch, going through the pictures once again when the knock happened and snapped her out of her jealousy daze. She didn't even bother to look through the peephole, knowing her doorman wouldn't allow some crazy psycho to go past him and bother her, and just opened the door, finding herself face to face with her.

"Hi." Rachel looked up at her, with a soft smile and tired eyes. She had a suitcase by her side and a heavy bag hanging from her shoulder, but couldn't look more beautiful to Quinn.

"Hi." Quinn stood frozen in the spot, holding onto the door with one hand and bracing herself against the doorframe with the other. "You are here…" She breathed out, as a mix of a statement and of a question.

"I'm here." The brunette smiled even more, totally amused by the surprised look on the blonde's face.

"You're not in London?" Quinn couldn't still believe her eyes. Were they deceiving her?

"I'm in NY, on your doorstep?" She chuckled and stepped closer. "May we talk inside, this hallway is kind of cold." She brushed past of the blonde, who had stepped aside to let her in and had just closed the door behind herself, leaning against it.

"Why are you here?" Quinn mentally kicked herself for the way it came out. She was not questioning her, nor wanting to put any doubt in her mind, but she needed to know. What did it mean? Was Rachel going to call it out once for all?

"Keeping up with the news, I see." Rachel picked the magazine and went through the article and the pictures, chuckling at the headlines. Throwing it to the side, she walked up to the stunned blonde who was trying to get a glimpse of her hand, but it was safely hidden behind her back.

"I didn't know where you were and then I saw the pictures." Quinn rubbed the back of her head, sighing loudly. "Look, Rach…I get it, I missed my chance and I shouldn't have come between you two. I hope that you'll find your happiness with him. I just want you to be happy."

"I want to be happy." Rachel stood in front of her and raised her left hand, to cup her cheek. "I want _us_ to be happy." She whispered softly, but Quinn had heard her perfectly.

"Us?" Quinn couldn't keep her smile in check. Her palm covered Rachel's against her cheek, feeling the lack of the metal band against her skin. No ring was there. "Do you mean…"

"I can't keep lying to myself and we all deserve more than a big fat lie." Rachel tugged her head lower, so they could rest their foreheads together. "I love you, Quinn. It's always been you." She looked deep into the girl's eyes, who circled her waist with her free arm and held her close.

"I love you too, Rach. I've never stopped loving you." Their noses brushed together softly, anticipating the moment their lips met once again, for the softest kiss they had ever shared.

 **any review is more than welcome!**


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

 _"So, how was your Valentine's Day? I texted you about your Saturday plans, but I guess you were too busy?" Tina nudged the brunette, as they gathered their things from the Glee club._

 _"Quinn and I got carried away, I guess." She blushed, going back to the hours spent in the girl's bedroom doing very interesting things to each other._

 _"Oh my god, Rachel!" Tina squealed in happiness, hugging the brunette and also earning the attention of some of the fellow Glee club members._

 _"What are you two squealing about? Did Berry get laid or something?" Santana walked down the stairs to the front row seats, pinkies intertwined with Brittany's, as usual._

 _"None of your business, Santana." Rachel blushed even harder. How could something so private become so interesting for anyone else? It was her business. Hers and Quinn's, of course._

 _"Good for you, Berry. It was damn time you joined the club, but I wouldn't have wanted you to have that experience with Man Boobs over there. Was Goldilocks as good as she looks like?" Santana smirked. She was not even that interested, but seeing Finn's constipated and furious face was too entertaining, to miss it._

 _"You slept with her? With a girl? You are not even gay!" Finn walked up to his ex-girlfriend, towering over her with his height._

 _"Quite the opposite, stupid giant." Santana snickered, earning a furious glare but she was not even shocked. She knew he was going to kick some chair and cry over this. It was what he always did._

 _"Stay out of this, Santana. This is between us!" Finn turned to the petite singer, who had her arms crossed over her chest. "How could you do this to me? I thought you wanted to wait until you were 25! You fed me that bullshit because you didn't want to sleep with me?"_

 _"I don't owe you any explanation, Finn. We are no longer together and whatever happens with Quinn is none of your business." She tried to move past him, but he stepped in the way blocking her path. Both Mike and Santana tensed at the guy's reaction. "Do you want the truth? Quinn never forced me into having sex with her. She didn't make me feel like I owed it to her, only because we were together. I wanted it and I wanted it with her, more than I had ever wished with you. Happy?"_

 _"You are such a bitch. You left me hanging for years and you spread your legs for the first girl that spared you with a glance, after I dumped you? You are just a pathetic whore." He shouted at her, ready to get closer when someone else stepped in and made him stumble back, into the drum set he loved so much._

 _"Stay away from my girlfriend, asshole!" Quinn stood protectively in front of the brunette, with Dave hovering her left side, ready to step in. "How dare you! Try that again and I'll make sure to stick that chair up your ass." She kicked his bag his way, hitting him square in the stomach with it. "Are you okay? Did he touch you?" Turning around, she searched for any sign of injury but she was relieved to find none._

 _"I'm fine, baby." Rachel dropped her bag and stepped in her girlfriend's arms, which closed around her back and just held her safely. "I'm sorry…" She whispered, buried in the crook of her neck._

 _"You have nothing to be sorry for, star. He needed to be taught a lesson." She kissed her temple, pulling her closer when she heard Finn go back to his feet._

 _"You are pathetic for needing your girlfriend to fight your battles. I'm so glad I dumped your ass." He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Watch out for that burden, she is going to drag you down."_

 _"You better leave her the fuck alone or I will do more damage, Hudson." Quinn barked after him, as he left the choir room._

 _"He is not worth it, Fabray." Santana squeezed her shoulder in acknowledgement and walked out as well, followed by Brittany who smiled at them both._

 _"We'll be outside, if you need us." They all left the room, letting the two girls have a moment on their own._

 _"What triggered that reaction? He's always been an asshole, but this was too much even for him." Quinn led the brunette to the piano bench and took a seat on it, pulling her into her lap._

 _"He got mad because I gave my virginity to you and I left him hanging, for all these years." Rachel wiped an angry tear, chuckling at her own reaction. How could Finn still manage to ruin the beautiful things in her life? She only wished they had never emerged from Quinn's bedroom and just stayed there, forever._

 _"He doesn't deserve any of your tears. It was your virginity and your choice to make. Not his nor mine." Quinn brushed their lips together, trying to reassure her distressed girlfriend the best she could. "I love you and I'd still be loving you, even if you had decided not to give yourself to me last weekend. If he gets petty about this, then he never deserved your love."_

 _"You made it perfect." Rachel sniffed and smiled through the tears. Her lips curled upwards when Quinn brushed another soft kiss over her mouth, almost to kiss her sadness away. How could she not love her? "I'm sorry I'm crying over a moron, who ruined our plans."_

 _"Don't fret about it, I just want you to be okay. Plans can be adjusted and changed anytime." She nudged their noses together, earning a soft chuckle from the brunette who cupped her cheeks and kissed her softly. "Are you feeling better?"_

 _"Yes." She nodded in her lips, locking her hands behind her neck as she sat comfortably in her lap. "I love you, Quinn." She rested their foreheads together, letting the strong embrace chase away any doubt or fear that her ex had made resurface._

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"You still do it." Rachel mumbled into the dark and gripped the pillow a bit tighter. She slowly opened her eyes and found Quinn's, who had never closed them not to miss a second of their time together.

"Do what?" She whispered and inched closer, until her head rested beside the brunette's, on the same pillow. Their mouths were mere inches apart and their noses brushed, tickling each other.

"Watch over me when I sleep. No one is going to steal me away from you." The singer smiled at the embarrassed look on the blonde's face. She loved when she rendered Quinn a blushing mess. It was a side of her hidden to most and that she still got to see.

"How do you know I am watching you, if you are asleep?" Quinn smirked. Her hand trailed along her side, under the duvet and cupped the side of her neck, brushing her thumb along the patch of skin below her ear.

"I am an actress, baby…" Rachel scooted even closer, burying her head into the crook of her neck to find the comfortable spot, where she used to fall asleep on. It was the perfect combination of softness and sweetness, that usually lulled her to sleep.

"I missed you calling me that…" Quinn's lips trailed along the side of her face, kissing her cheek and down to her jawline. Her mouth peppered her skin with soft kisses, until she was face to face with the brunette, who had turned her head sideways to meet her mouth, with hers.

"I know, I missed that too." She went to lean in for another kiss, but she ended up yawning in the blonde's mouth, who chuckled in response. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry…"

"I won't take it personally, I promise." Quinn pecked her pouting lips. "You had a long flight, it is expected, Rach." Her arms slipped under and around her head, to tug her into her front as they rolled on their back, in a more comfortable position.

"This is not what I expected to do tonight." She tried to hold another yawn back, without any success. Her hand slipped under the hem of Quinn's shirt, to rest her palm against her lower abs. "I thought we'd celebrate getting back together, in a more spectacular way." She mumbled sleepily, nuzzling herself into the blonde's neck.

"I'd rather wait and take our time to do it, rather than having you fall asleep on me during the act. It'd make me question my skills." Quinn looked down at the brunette in her arms, who nodded weakly at her statement. "Do you have any meeting tomorrow morning?"

"No, I cleared my agenda for the whole week and then I fly back to Lima, on Friday." Rachel fought to open her eyes, to stare back up at Quinn who was smiling down at her. "Are you staying in NY for the holidays?"

"Frannie can't travel anymore, so I'll go down there with Dave on Thursday and then come back to NY by the end of the year. It is the busiest day of the whole year and the club is going to be packed." She lowered her lips against the brunette's forehead, lingering there.

"I'll be stuck in the boring city of Lima, while you'll have to keep flirty customers off you, for the midnight kiss." Groaning, her leg slipped over Quinn's lap, hooking around her other hip – the furthest away from her.

"There's only one girl I want to kiss at midnight, star." Quinn chuckled at the cute jealousy Rachel was sporting. If anything, she was going to be the one worried about Rachel. She was just a pretty face, compared to her.

"Mmm, really?" She grinned sleepily at her and leaned up to brush their lips together, for a tender kiss. "You're lucky you're cute, smooth talker." She settled back on Quinn's shoulder, hugging her arm to her chest to lean on.

"Get some rest, star. I'll be here when you wake up." Quinn whispered, watching the brunette slowly drift off to sleep against her.

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 _"Good morning…" Quinn slipped her arms around her girlfriend's waist from behind, kissing her cheek softly. "You left so early, I didn't get a proper morning kiss." Nibbling on her earlobe, she pulled the brunette back into her, who whimpered and held onto her locker for support._

 _"I had to sneak in, before my parents found out I was gone." Rachel tilted her head to the side and let the blonde assault her neck, lingering on the darkened patch that she had marked so proudly the night before._

 _"Right. As if they don't know what I did to you, all night long." The blonde chuckled and turned her into her embrace, pinning her against the lockers behind them. "I can't wait to be off to college, so we don't have to worry about sneaking out or that stupid open door policy."_

 _"Did I turn you into a horn dog?" Rachel couldn't help but chuckle. Her fingers tugged at the yellow cardigan the blonde was wearing, to pull her in and steal a soft kiss from her. "Speaking of colleges, have you thought about it?" Her fingers massaged the back of the taller girl's neck, who braced herself against the open locker with one hand and held Rachel around her waist, with the other._

 _"I wrote some application letter and Dad was thinking about going out there, to visit a couple of colleges just to see what they can offer." She shrugged and went to lean down for a kiss, but she only met Rachel's cheek._

 _"College is a very important thing, Quinn. You can't be that casual about it." Reaching behind herself, she grabbed a stack of paper where she had printed out several colleges' information, organized by geographical area and the top majors. "Take these and we can go through them later, when I come over."_

 _"Are you serious? I won't go through this with you, when we can do better things with my parents gone." Quinn stuffed her bag with the papers and went back to her girlfriend, who had her arms crossed over her chest. "C'mon, you want to list them down when we could have sex?" She whispered the last part, but Rachel had heard her perfectly._

 _"I won't let our hormones get into the way of your proper education, Quinn. We will have time to catch up on the sex part, but this should be your top priority. What colleges did you submit your applications to?" She closed the locker room and tried to take Quinn's hand in hers, but the blonde just pulled back. "Quinn, you can't be mad about this…"_

 _"Why can't I?" She took few steps back and eyed the petite brunette, who was now staring down at her feet. "I know you planned the next 5 years, Rachel, and I admire that but I am not like that. I am not even sure about my major, yet, so don't expect me to sit down and figure it out with a PowerPoint presentation or with some articulate spreadsheet. I need to figure it out on my own and you need to trust me on this, as much as I know you will be landing in NY when September comes."_

 _"Where will you go, then? Where will this take us?" She stepped in and tentatively took the girl's hand in hers, happy that she managed to lace their fingers together, this time._

 _"I don't know where I'll go, Rachel, but I can tell you this won't be over. I want to be with you." She cupped her face and leaned down to brush their lips softly. "I don't want this to stop because we are moving to college. This is not just a high school romance, for me."_

 _"Neither for me." Rachel raised herself on her tiptoes and kissed her more firmly, not caring about the lingering stares around them. "I want to be with you too."_

 _"I have a free period now, maybe we can go to the auditorium and prep you for the NYADA's audition?" She lowered the brunette back to her feet, who beamed at her and almost jumped into her arms._

 _"I have Glee, but who cares? I need to be perfect for it and only practice can make me achieve that." Rachel got her music sheets from the locker and pressed them into Quinn's chest, who raised an eyebrow in puzzlement. "I need you to play with me. We need to make it as more realistic as possible, babe."_

 _"I am not that good, Rach. Maybe we can ask one of the guys in the band to play for you?" Quinn looked through the sheets, quickly scanning the notes and assessing the complexity of the tunes._

 _"I want you." Rachel's arms sneaked around her waist and nose nuzzled up against her neck, finding her "spot" behind her left ear. "No one makes me feel at ease like you do and it's what I need to ace my audition." She kissed her pulse, purring into her ear slowly. "Pleaseeeee…"_

 _"You don't play fair, Miss Berry." Quinn rolled her eyes and nodded._

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Rachel stretched slowly in the familiar bed, surrounded by the scent that was so typical of Quinn: a mixture of vanilla and old spices, thanks to her secret passion for male perfumes over feminine ones. Her hand stretched across the mattress, to find her sleeping companion but, sadly, she only found the other side of the bed empty and not even that warm, meaning the blonde must have gotten up way before she woke up.

Reaching on the nightstand, she quickly checked the time and her notifications. Cassie had left her 3 voice mails and 5 texts, urging to call her regarding the Jesse's situation that needed to be addressed as soon as possible. She knew she had shuffled the cards on the table, maybe not even in her own favour, but she also trusted Cassie's ability to handle it and get her out of the impasse. That's why she was so damn expensive, after all.

Sitting up, she slipped out of the warm duvet and placed her bare feet on the carpet by the bed, just to try and locate the warm slippers she had already borrowed, the previous time she had slept over there. Having found her target, she padded across the hardwood floor and slipped them on along with an UCLA sweatshirt, that fell past her mid-thighs and provided her more warmth than the thin t-shirt she was wearing. She burrowed her nose into the collar of the sweatshirt, that carried Quinn's scent and followed the sound of her voice, that was not that loud despite being obviously on a business call. She probably just didn't want to bother her, as she slept.

'Alright, how much is that going to cost us?' Quinn was sitting on the couch, with a Blutooth earpiece in her left ear and her MacBook in her lap. She was reading through her emails, as she listened on the other side of the conversation. 'We need to cut it by the 25%, Mark. That can't be so damn expensive' She fired back, sighing loudly at the response she got. 'I don't care, you either get me that discount or you can find yourself another client.' She aborted the call and threw the earpiece to the side, head dropping against the back of the couch, in tiredness.

"Bad morning?" Rachel had witnessed the whole exchange, leaning against the doorway of the living room.

"Oh, hi. Did I wake you up?" Quinn closed her laptop and sat up, making enough room for the brunette who kneeled on the couch, beside her.

"No, you're fine. I woke up on my own." Rachel ran her fingers through her blonde locks, massaging her scalp slowly. "Weren't you supposed to be there with me, this morning?" She smirked and lowered her mouth on Quinn's.

"That was my plan, but I got pulled in work stuff. I should have switched my phone off." Quinn tugged her across her lap, resting her palms on her bare thighs, left exposed by her sweatshirt.

"Yes, you should have." Rachel nodded softly. Pulling her hair to the side, she tilted her head down and pressed her mouth against Quinn's, who sighed happily welcoming her kiss. Fingers tangled into blonde locks, tugging at them as their mouths parted, to let their tongues come out to battle for a sweet dominance that had no winners nor losers. Quinn's hands sneaked under the hem of the familiar sweater, to rest on the girl's lower back and make sure she didn't fall off, while they were kissing. Her palms slid slowly up and down, moving Rachel into her as their necks craned and angled differently, giving their mouths more territory to explore with their tongues.

"I made coffee…" Quinn's lips trailed up her tight jawline, peppering the bronzed skin with kisses that ended behind the girl's left ear. Her teeth grazed the tender skin of her earlobe, sucking on it hard enough to make Rachel moan and roll her hips down against her stomach.

"You're so considerate…" Rachel's head fell back, between her shoulders, to let those perfect teeth nip at every available patch of skin she could find.

"You're overdressed." Quinn pulled back from her, just to tug the sweatshirt and t-shirt off her, in one swift move, leaving her in her lace underwear. "God, you're even more beautiful now." She licked her lips in appreciation of the sight before her eyes. She had always felt incredibly lucky for her girlfriend's beauty, but the years had managed to make Rachel more gorgeous and sexier.

"You've seen me naked before, Lucy." Rachel chuckled and tilted the blonde's head upwards, to get those hazelnut eyes to stare at her and not at her boobs. "How can you still make me feel like this, though?" Shaking her head, she scooted herself closer and pressed up into Quinn's front. Chest to chest. Stomach to stomach.

"Like what, baby?" Her fingers trailed along Rachel's spine and landed on her bare hips, above her underwear.

"Like the most beautiful thing you've ever seen." Rachel nuzzled her nose along Quinn's, who smiled and pecked her lips reassuringly.

"That's because I've never seen something equally beautiful. Nothing or no one can compare to you Rach." Quinn buried her head in her exposed neck, breathing in deeply. She held Rachel a little closer when she started shivering in her arms.

"Take me back to bed, Quinn." Rachel whispered hotly in her ear, latching around her with her arms and legs when the blonde stood up and carried her across the living room, to their destination.

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 _"You shouldn't have gone through so much trouble tonight, even if dinner was amazing." Rachel rolled up into her girlfriend and draped her arm over her bare waist, palming her narrow hip under the sheets._

 _"We had to celebrate your first NYADA screening. How many steps do you have to go through?" Quinn looked down at her girlfriend, who nuzzled her shoulder and snuggled up more into her side._

 _"Two more. My fathers are taking me to New York in a month, for the live audition and the interview at NYADA." The brunette trailed her fingers up the girl's side, tracing the underside of her breast before resting her palm over it, lightly rubbing her sensitive nub._

 _"Mmm…" Quinn whimpered and kissed her forehead, tightening the grip around her back. "My Dad wants me to go check Columbia out, maybe we can take that trip to NY together. I'd like to be there for your audition."_

 _"Really? Are you sure you won't get bored?" She scaled up to roll fully on top of the blonde, whose hands slid down along her back to hold her by the hips._

 _"Why should I be? I love hearing you sing." Quinn chuckled, leaning up to meet Rachel's lips who rewarded her with a generous kiss. "I will sit in the back and just enjoy the show and then, we can walk around and be tourists."_

 _"We need to find a suitable location for our apartment, too. It should be within reasonable distance from both our colleges and in a relatively safe neighbourhood, of course." She cradled her face with her forearms, peppering her face and, mostly, her mouth with soft kisses._

 _"Of course." Quinn smiled and quickly rolled them over, settling between Rachel's legs that she draped around her waist. "Aren't you rushing just a little bit? Haven't checked Columbia out, yet." Burying her face into Rachel's neck, she latched her lips around her pulse, to start over with the same patch that she usually marked. She was almost obsessed with that side of the brunette's neck._

 _"I know, but I…I would love to share an apartment with you, unless we are moving a little too fast?" she arched up into her girlfriend's touch, spreading her thighs when familiar fingers slipped over her core, rubbing her folds and circling around her clit._

 _"I want to live with you too, Rach." She kissed the darkening mark and up to her ear, sucking it in her mouth while her fingers slipped back into the brunette below, who moaned loudly into her right ear. She kissed the girl's flushed cheek and moved with her, using her thigh to push against her hand that was now thrusting in and out of her core, rubbing her thumb over her nub at the same time._

 _"Fuck, don't stop." Rachel held onto her flexing biceps, grunting whenever Quinn's fingers stretched her and hit her inner spot, making her moan louder and spread herself wider, for her. Her feet trailed up the back of Quinn's thighs, before locking above her back to pull her flushed down into her._

 _"You're so hot and tight, for me." Quinn panted in her cheek, slipping a third finger in and letting her adjust to the new intrusion. She had always done her with two, but it felt even better now. Rachel was clawing at her back, leaving marks along the way, and was moaning her name, over and over again when her thrusts became faster and shorter._

 _"God, I'm close…" Rachel pulled her face down and joined their lips. Their mouths met sloppily, mostly sharing the same oxygen when the brunette's walls tightened around those long fingers, that curled and took her over the edge, for the umpteenth orgasm of the night. "Quinnn!" She moaned loudly, thankful for her soundproofed room, that kept their intimate moments private enough._

 _"Fuck, yes." She stroked along her girlfriend's walls, feeling her digits carry the essence of her release. Slumping forward, she rested their foreheads together and watched Rachel slowly come down from her high, holding her close in the aftermath._

 **RQRQRQRQRQRQRQRQ**

They fell onto the unmade bed together, still sharing soft kisses while their hands roamed along their frames with renewed curiosity, to remove any barrier left to separate them from each other. Quinn hovered her on her outstretched arms, placed each side of her head mindful not to tug at her hair or rest her weight down on Rachel; her eyes roamed down the girl's front, taking in every small detail to burn in her memory and safely store there.

"Are you okay?" Rachel's palm brushed against the skin above her heart, feeling it thump loudly against her touch. "You're not having a heart attack, are you?"

"I'd die happily." Quinn chuckled and lowered her lips against her soon to be lover, who pouted and tangled her hands into her locks, holding her close. The blonde's hand slipped between their fronts, trailing along the muscles of her stomach to grip the elastic of her underwear and tug it down her spread thighs.

"I feel underdressed here." Rachel's whimpered in her mouth, feeling the girl's fingertips brush along her inner thighs and nearing her core. Her legs fell open on their own accord, welcoming the other girl in between them who was now lying just against her, still in her boy-shorts.

"I don't think so." Quinn looked between their frames and then back up at Rachel, who had raised an eyebrow in a challenging way. "I think you should stay naked, whenever I am around." She grinned mischievously, cupping her intimacy with her palm, with one swift move. Slender fingertips traced the length of Rachel's folds, slipping with easiness up and down, aided by the abundant wetness that was now coating her fingers and palm.

"Oh, God…" Rachel's head dropped against the mattress. Her eyes focused on the ceiling above them, wishing there was a mirror installed there so she could enjoy the show, without hurting her neck. Her thighs parted and her hips bucked up and down, trying to meet Quinn's fingertips, who was avoiding any contact with her hole and just circled her nub, tugging it off its hood.

"You still feel so good, star." Quinn's lips closed around her left nipple. Her lips sucked on the hard tip, rolling it around with expertise while her fingers traced imaginary shapes around her clit, making the brunette arch into her and buck up, to get more of her touch. "So, fucking good." She switched to the other breasts, nipping at the tender skin around her nipple before assaulting it with her tongue, that thrusted against it.

"Oh fuck, Quinn." Rachel hissed at a particularly hard bite around her nipple. Her fingers pulled the blonde from her breast, to crash their lips together in a hard kiss. Her feet slid along the girl's thighs, to tug the boy-shorts past her legs and finally strip her as naked as she was. "Quinn…" She couldn't help but feel herself gush, at the sight before her. Quinn was still so toned and breath-taking, that she couldn't still believe she had chosen her, over the many women that she could have.

"Yes, star." Quinn lied down against her. Their breasts slid together, deliciously adding more friction to their movements and their thighs slipped over each other's, making it possible for the blonde to grind down on Rachel's leg, while her two fingers slid into her core.

"Don't stop…" Any word got caught in the loud moans, provoked by getting filled by those slender fingers once again. Quinn's fingers slipped in and out of her, thrusting steadily inside her core that covered her hand with the evidence of that arousal. Her toes curled against the sheets and her fingers dug into the mattress, almost ripping into it. Her hips canted forward, meeting each thrust with one on her own, so she could feel Quinn go deeper and fill her knuckles-deep.

"You're still so fucking tight." Another finger was slid into Rachel. Her nails were now scratching along the blonde's back, pulling at her to hold onto. Quinn's face nuzzled into her sweaty neck, lapping at the salty droplets trailing down the column of her neck and alternating it with soft bites, that left light marks all over Rachel's darker skin.

"I'm close, please…" Rachel sobbed into her ear. Her legs locked around the girl's hips, pulling her down and against her, as she grinded down on Quinn's fingers that were still thrusting in and out of her, at a fast pace. "Like that…God, yes!" The brunette breathed heavily, unable to speak or even think coherently. She could only feel. She could only feel Quinn everywhere around her, inside her and against her.

"Come for me, star." Quinn pulled back from her neck and pressed their mouths together, needing to feel Rachel's mouth swallow her own moans as she took her over the edge, tightening around her curled fingers. And so, she did. Rachel's hands gripped the back of her head, scratching her skin while her hips bucked up and down, to ride her orgasm out on her long – and now wet – fingers.

"QUINNNN!" Rachel pulled her mouth off her lover to scream out her name. Her walls clamped down around Quinn's fingers, that were still massaging her from the inside and riding her orgasm out, together.

 **please review,,,thank you!**


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